Copyright Naturally Australian
All Rights Reserved
Common Name: HORIZONTAL
Botanical Name: Anodopetalum biglandulosum A.Cunn. ex Hook. f.
Height to: 10 m.
Diameter to: 0.2 m.
Wood Colour: Pale to light brown,
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 700 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Very fine grain, even texture, hard, very tough.
Comments: Horizontal Scrub is a slow growing tree endemic to the south and west of Tasmania. It is a pale, exceedingly strong and durable timber with the peculiarity that the bark stays attached even in situations of heavy wear.
Interest centres in the curious habit of growth and on the virtually impenetrable thickets that are formed. The flexible stems become top heavy with foliage and bend down to an almost horizontal position (hence its name); lateral shoots grow and are in turn bent down, and so the process is repeated until a lattice-work of tough, slippery branches covers acres of rainforest. The only way for a bush-walker to negotiate such entanglements is to scramble along over the top, often at a height of 6 to 10 metres above the ground; the walker, especially in winter if the thicket is snow covered, is then in danger of slipping through rotted sections, and, so the story goes, of being trapped without leaving a trace.
Common Name: SOUTHERN SASSAFRAS, BLACKHEART SASSAFRAS
Botanical Name: Atherosperma moschatum Labill.
Height to: 25 m. Diameter to: 0.75 m.
Wood Colour: Pale white to very light grey, sometimes with black streaks (Blackheart Sassafras).
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 530 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Straight grain, fine and even texture. No pronounced figure.
Comments: The Sassafras tree is one of the dominant species in the cool temperate rainforests of Tasmania and also grows in eastern Victoria and south eastern New South Wales where it is sometimes confused with another tree called Sassafras which is of a different genus; Doryphora sassafras.
Traditionally it is used for turnery items such as handles, bobbins, etc. and for clothes pegs, where the furring of the wood when damp helps to hold the clothes on the line. However, even such an unassuming wood may contain an element of surprise as the tree, predominantly in Tasmania, sometimes displays a 'black-heart' which, if cut correctly at the saw-mill or explored sympathetically by the craftsperson, reveals an effect which makes it one of our more dramatic timbers. Until recently, the stained heartwood was unappreciated and discarded at the mill but today this rare effect adds value to the timber. The cause of the 'black-heart' is still being debated.
Tannin, resin and an essential oil are obtained from the bark and leaves of this tree.
Common Name: NORTHERN SILKY OAK (See also Grevillea robusta)
Botanical Name: Cardwellia sublimis F.Muell.
Height to: 40 m.
Diameter to: 2.0 m.
Wood Colour: Brownish pink.
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 550 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Has oak figure. Rather open texture.
Comments: Northern Silky Oak is a native to the rainforests of the far north Queensland coast. Its timber is highly prized for cabinetmaking and is often confused with Silky Oak, Grevillea robusta, which is very similar in appearance.
During the first half of the 1900s vast areas of its habitat were cleared for agricultural purposes (sugar cane farming) and this timber was in abundant supply. It was extensively used for interior work in railway carriages, school desks by the thousands and individual cabinetwork, amongst other uses. Nowadays it is only available in small quantities.
Common Name: SPOTTED GUM
Botanical Name: Corymbia maculata (Hook.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S.Johnson
Height to: 45 m.
Diameter to:1.2 m.
Wood Colour: Light to dark brown.
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 970 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Wide sapwood almost white. Fiddleback common.Good bending properties.
Comments: Formerly classified as Eucalyptus maculata, one of the EUCALYPTUS BLOODWOOD GROUP. In 1995 this whole group of Eucalypts was re-classified into a new genus - CORYMBIA.
Spotted Gum is an extremely fast and profusely growing tree especially in areas where rainfall exceeds 400mm. per annum along the east coast of New South Wales. It is one of the strongest timbers in the world (with its strength to weight ratio) having very long fibres which make it an excellent material for steam bending and also for boat building.
Like many Eucalypts, because of its hardness and difficulty to season properly, it is only since the advent of modern hardened steel tools and computer controlled kilns for seasoning, that furniture craftsmen have sought this timber as a material to use. Even so, care has to be used in finishing a piece as the wood exudes a waxy substance which may discolour the final finish.
Wood Colour: Deep red-brown heartwood, sapwood much paler.
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 720 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Uniform texture sometimes with an interlocked grain.
Comments: This eastern coast rainforest tree has been banned from being logged in New South Wales state forests due to past over cutting. Some timber though is occasionally available on the market which would either have come from private land or from trees which have either fallen down in a state forest or have had to be removed because of some extenuating circumstance.
It is a beautiful deep red timber, although somewhat brittle, which has a distinctive rose-like odour from which it gets its common name. With some pieces of timber it is very hard to get a good finish as an oleo-resin exudate can persistently seep through making the surface very sticky. This resin can be removed with methylated spirits.
Common Name: QUEENSLAND WALNUT
Botanical Name: Endiandra palmerstonii (Bailey) C. White & Francis
Height to: 35 m.
Diameter to: 1.0 m.
Wood Colour: Brown to dark chocolate, sometimes with paler streaks.
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 750 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Fine texture. Usually straight grained.
Comments: This tree is restricted to the rainforest areas south of Cairns, North Queensland. Its very attractive and sought after cabinet timber was once in ready supply as large areas of rainforest were cleared for sugar-cane farming. Nowadays only very limited supplies reach the main markets.
The timber plays havoc with machinery and tools when being worked due to its abrasiveness (it has a very high silica content).
