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Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Blunting Effect Boring Carving Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Luster Mortising Moulding Movement in Service Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing Polishing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Routing & Recessing Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Silica Content Staining Steam Bending Strength Properties Substitutes Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning Veneering Qualities Scientific Name Tetragastris sp. Trade Name Sali Family Name Burseraceae Common Names Aguarras, Almesca, Amasey, Azucarero, Bois cochon, Encens rouge, Gommier, Haiawaballi, Incienso, Joeliballi, Kerosen, Masa, Pakiria-sipioli, Palo cochino, Palo de aceite, Palo de cedro, Sali, Salie, Trementino azucarero, Witte salli Regions of Distribution Central America, Latin America Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Bahamas, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Suriname Common Uses Construction, Cooperages, Crossties, Flooring, Furniture , Interior construction, Interior trim, Railroad ties Environmental Profile Status has not been officially assessed Distribution Overview The genus Tetragastris is represented by four medium-sized and large trees in the West Indies, Central America, and northern South America. It is widely distributed and is common locally in the high forests of Surinam. Heartwood Color White Brown Yellow Red Orangish-Brown Sapwood Color Red Brown Yellow White Yellowish brown Clearly differentiated from the heartwood Grain Figure Irregular to roey. Texture Fine Even or uniform Fine Luster Medium to high Natural Durability Perishable Heartwood is moderately susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites Heartwood highly resistant to attack by brown-rot and white-rot fungi Odor No specific taste The wood has a pleasant balsamic scent Silica Content Contains silica Silica content of 0.13% of ovendry weight has been reported in some timbers. A silica level of 0.05% is considered to be high enough to affect the machining properties of wood. Drying Defects Distortion Some species are highly prone to checking and splitting Ease of Drying Rapidly Moderately Difficult to Difficult Slowly Variable results. While some Tetragastris timbers are reported to dry rapidly with little degrade, others are rather difficult to dry. Tree Size Tree height is 20-30 m Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm The trees produce boles of fairly good form over few buttresses Product Sources The International Tropical Timbers Organization reports that the species in the genus are a source for the production of limited quantities of timber with some export potential. The trade name Sali is used collectively to refer to timber produced by species in the genus Trattinickia . Substitutes Tetragastris timbers have been suggested as potential substitutes for Birch (Betula ) and Maple (Acer ) Blunting Effect Little Medium dulling effect on cutting edges Boring Fair to good results Fairly easy to very easy Carving Very Good to Excellent Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair to Good Results Cutting Resistance Easy to saw Variable by species Machining characteristics, including sawing, are reported to vary with species and are influenced by degree of grain irregularity Gluing Fair to Good Results Good gluing properties Mortising Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Moulding Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Movement in Service Fair to Good Stability - Medium Movement Nailing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Tends to split during nailing Pre-boring recommended Difficult to nail Planing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Ease of planing varies Tetragastris timbers are reported to vary from moderately easy to moderately difficult to machine. Degree of difficulty is mainly dependent on species and severity of interlocked grain Resistance to Impregnation Permeable sapwood Permeable heartwood Sapwood is permeable Heartwood responds poorly to preservative treatment Response to Hand Tools Responds Readily Easy to Work Routing & Recessing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Screwing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Turning Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Veneering Qualities Suitable for slicing Steam Bending Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair to good depending upon the species Polishing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Good results Staining Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Strength Properties Very heavy Compression strength (parallel to grain) = high Bending strength (MOR) = high Teak, White oak, and Hard maple have high crushing strength. It is hard and superior to Teak and probably Mahogany Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 12093 15332 psi Hardness 1931 lbs Maximum Crushing Strength 6007 8173 psi Stiffness 1759 1994 1000 psi Toughness 219 inch-lbs Specific Gravity 0.68 Weight 52 43. lbs/ft3 Radial Shrinkage 4 % Tangential Shrinkage 8 % Volumetric Shrinkage 14 % Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 850 1077 kg/cm2 Hardness 875 kg Maximum Crushing Strength 422 574 kg/cm2 Stiffness 123 140 1000 kg/cm2 Toughness 252 cm-kg Specific Gravity 0.68 Weight 833 689. kg/m3 Radial Shrinkage 4 % Tangential Shrinkage 8 % References Oxford School of Forestry