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Boring
Common Names
Common Uses
Countries of Distribution
Cutting Resistance
Distribution Overview
Drying Defects
Ease of Drying
Environmental Profile
Family Name
Grain
Heartwood Color
Kiln Schedules
Luster
Nailing
Natural Durability
Numerical Data
Odor
Planing
Product Sources
References
Regions of Distribution
Resistance to Impregnation
Response to Hand Tools
Sapwood Color
Scientific Name
Texture
Trade Name
Tree Size
Turning

Scientific Name
Dillenia spp.

Trade Name
Simpoh

Family Name
Dilleniaceae

Wood Image 1

Wood Image 1

Common Names
Dillenia, Katmon, Masurina, Poplea, San, San na, Simpoh, Simpur, Thabyu

Regions of Distribution
Oceania and S.E. Asia

Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP]
Australia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea

Common Uses
Balusters, Bedroom suites, Building construction, Building materials, Cabinetmaking, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Construction, Crossties, Decorative plywood, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Interior construction, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Light construction, Living-room suites, Moldings, Office furniture, Pile-driver cushions, Piling, Plywood, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Railroad ties, Rustic furniture, Stairworks, Stools, Stringers, Structural plywood, Tables

Environmental Profile
Status unknown due to inadequate information
Status has not been officially assessed


Distribution Overview
Indo-Malaysia (Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia, India). Generally found in the lowland and hill dipterocarp forests, swamp forests and schima-bamboo secondary forests.

Heartwood Color
Reddish brown
Purplish
Deposits in vessels may appear as white lines on the surface
Darkens with age


Sapwood Color
Paler than heartwood
Not clearly differentiated from the heartwood


Grain
Interlocked
Even

Twisted
Seldom straight, possibly interlocked
Interlocked

Quartersawn surfaces may yield an attractive silver figure

Texture
Medium
Medium coarse to coarse
Even textured


Luster
Low


Natural Durability
Very little natural resistance
Sapwood susceptible to attack by powder post beetles


Odor
No specific smell or taste


Kiln Schedules
T3 - C2 (4/4) US/T3 - C2 (4/4) U


Drying Defects
Splitting
Quartersawn material less prone to degrade
Material may warp and end-check during seasoning


Ease of Drying
Specific information on drying difficulty is not available
Quartersawn material dries with little degrade


Radial - 2.2%
Shrinkage for Dillenia spp. (Green to Air-dry):
Tangential - 3.9%

Tree Size
Bole length is 0-10 m


Stilt roots are often present

Product Sources
Various species in the Dillenia genus from the Philippines are so similar to one another that they are often mixed and marketed together without any distinction. The most common ones are Katmon-bayani (D. megalantha), Malakatmon (D. luzoniensis), Katmon (D. philippinensis), and Katmon-kalabau (D. reifferscheidia).

Boring
Easy


Cutting Resistance
Easy to saw
Sawn timber may spring immediately after sawing
Fine dust may clog saw teeth
Fairly easy to saw


Nailing
Nails hold poorly


Planing
Planing yields smooth surfaces


Resistance to Impregnation
Heartwood is somewhat permeable

The heartwood response to preservative treatment is fair. Absorptions of 6 to 10 pcf of preservative oil have been reported

Response to Hand Tools
Easy to Work


Turning
Good results


Numerical Data
ItemGreenDryEnglish
Bending Strength674714355psi
Density44lbs/ft3
Hardness1225lbs
Maximum Crushing Strength37426350psi
Stiffness120116761000 psi
Specific Gravity0.55
Weight4335.lbs/ft3
ItemGreenDryMetric
Bending Strength4741009kg/cm2
Density705kg/m3
Hardness555kg
Maximum Crushing Strength263446kg/cm2
Stiffness841171000 kg/cm2
Specific Gravity0.55

References
Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison.

EcoTimber International, San Francisco, California. Personal Communication, 1993.

Eddowes, P.J. 1977. Commercial Timbers of Papua New Guinea - Their Properties and Uses. Forest Products Research Center, Office of Forests, Department of Primary Industry, Papua New Guinea.

Keating, W.G., Bolza, E.,1982,Characteristics properties and uses of timbers. South East Asia, Northern,Australia and the Pacific,C.S.I.R.O. Div. Chemical Technology,Inkata Press,1

Reyes, L.J. 1938. Philippine Woods. Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Technical Bulletin 7, Commonwealth of the Philippines, Bureau of Printing, Manila.

The Ecological Trading Company Limited (ETC, Newcastle upon Tyre, United Kingdom.