T - Z

see Cedar, South American

Other common names:  
Distribution:  
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Tallowwood heartwood is pale to darker yellow-brown with a noticeably lighter, almost white sapwood. This wood has a fairly coarse texture with an interlocking grain. As the word tallow suggests, the timber of this species feels waxy to the touch. Tallowwood is highly resistant to decay in-ground and will withstand damp and wet conditions quite well. Suitable for most external uses. Sapwood is susceptible to lyctid attack, and heartwood is resistant to preservative impregnation. 1000 kg/cu.m 
Working Characteristics: Tallowwood is reasonably easy to work. Gluing can be difficult due to the greasy nature of the timber. To resolve this problem, it may be necessary to wash the surface with a 10% sodium hydroxide solution before applying glue. Fixing with standard fixings and fasteners presents no problems. Tallowwood accepts paint, stain and polish readily. 
Common Uses:   Structural, Flooring, Internal lining, External cladding, joinery Tallowwood has a wide variety of uses including decking, flooring, cladding, linings, exposed structures, poles, piles, bridge timbers, joinery, turnery, out door furniture, boat building, and plywood. 
General :

From Japan Attains height of 90 feet and diameter of 9 feet. Harder than camphor wood and makes a good substitute for mahogany when stained. 

see Larch, European   see Western Larch

see Western Larch

Brazil & other areas in South & Central AmericaTamarind is a wood very similar in color and graining to Brazilian Cherry except that it is more uniform in color, which is an orangish brown. Tamarind is very uniform in color with little variation when sourced from Brazil. Tamarind will darken over time from a tan salmon color when fresh milled to a darker reddish brown.

See Balsa

Sapwood is not differentiated by colour from the heartwood, which is light yellow-brown, and darkening to brown with a purple-red or orange-yellow tinge. Grain is straight or shallowly interlocked. Texture is moderately fine but uneven due to the presence of the large rays. 

see PurpleHeart

Other common names:  
Distribution: Tanbark oak, sometimes called simply tan oak, is found only in the mountains of California and southwestern Oregon, being most abundant in the Coast counties, often associated with the Coast redwood. 
Tree Data: Sometimes 150 ft. high and over 4 ft. in diameter.
Timber Properties : The wood is softer than that of the true oaks, but resembles it closely, especially when quarter-sawed. It is not a durable wood. 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses: The cutting of this oak for its bark, used in tanning, is an important industry but the logs after peeling are ordinarily left in the woods. The wood has been used with some success for flooring and furniture. 
General : It bears an acorn like an oak but is not regarded as a true oak by botanists. It is evergreen.

Distribution : New Zealand

Very flexible. Clear light coloured wood without much grain detail. Easy to use, plan and sand. Takes a reasonably good finish.

610 kg/cum

Attains a diameter of over 4 feet. A light and soft to moderately hard wood. Splits and works easily. Abundant. Excellent for furniture and interior finish. It is also used in boat building, boxes, canoes and cabinets. Under the name "Philippine Mahogany" it is sold as a substitute for the true mahogany. Naval airplane propellers were made of this wood during World War I. It is the hardest, finest-grained, and, except for red lauan, the reddest of the lauan class.

see Tree daisy

650 kg m-3

Other common names: Tasmanian Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum, Blue Gum 
Distribution: South Eastern Australia, mainly Victoria and Tasmania. This specie's natural habitat is eastern coastal Tasmania. Tasmanian Blue Gum has been planted in many overseas countries e.g. California, and is one of the world's most widely planted eucalypt. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Tasmanian Blue Gum is pale straw to brown, often with blue green tones. Sapwood is paler than heartwood, but often difficult to distinguish. Tasmanian Blue Gum is a reasonably durable specie and combined with it's strength, makes it a very good structural timber. 900 kg/m3 Sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer 
Working Characteristics: It is often used in an unseasoned condition, as it is difficult to dry and work. This timber is best when quarter sawn. 
Common Uses: It's appropriate for flooring in high traffic areas, especially where a pale colour is required. Tasmanian Blue Gum established a reputation for it's toughness and durability, particularly for bridge construction, railway sleepers, mine timbers and wharf piling. 
General : Oils extracted from blue gum leaves were also exported for use in medicines and varnishes.

Other common names: Southern Blue Gum 
Distribution:  
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Heartwood and sapwood of Tasmanian Blue gum are often indistinguishable being pale brown with an occasional pinkish tinge. Texture is medium to fairly even with an interlocking grain. Heartwood is moderately durable, but sapwood is susceptible to lyctid attack. 950 kg/cu.m 
Working Characteristics: Some difficulty in working may occur due to the dense interlocked nature of the wood. Tasmanian blue gum is a bendable wood if carefully chosen for straightness of grain. 
Common Uses: Structural, Flooring Tasmanian blue gum is a timber used in general building construction. Commonly used in above ground framing under protected circumstances. A valuable pulpwood and firewood species. 
General :  

Other common names: Botonallare, Peonia (Venezuela), Tatabu, Aramatta (Guyana), Zwarte kabbes (Surinam), Coeur dehors (French Guiana), Sapupira, Supupira, Sucupira (Brazil). 
Distribution: Uplands of the Guianas and in para and Amazonas in Brazil. Fairly common in parts of Brazil and French Guiana, infrequent in Surinam and Guyana. 
Tree Data: Commonly 90 to 100 ft in height and 16 to 24 in. in diameter, occasionally up to 40 in. The bole is usually straight, cylindrical, unbuttressed, and clear to lengths of 60 to 70 ft. 
Timber Properties : General Characteristics: Freshly cut heartwood is generally chocolate brown turning to a lighter brown when dry, occasionally greyish brown, with fine lighter parenchyma stripes; sharply demarcated from whitish or yellowish sapwood. Texture coarse; grain usually straight to slightly interlocked or slightly wavy; lustre medium to high and golden, often with a waxy appearance; without distinctive odour or taste. Weight: Basic specific gravity (oven-dry weight/green volume) 0.78; air-dry density 58 pcf.  Drying and Shrinkage: The wood is moderately difficult to air season and rapid drying results in some checking and warping. Considerable checking and warping will occur in kiln-drying unless a mild schedule is used. In laboratory evaluations, the heartwood is rated very durable in resistance to both white-rot and brown-rot fungi. Other evaluations rate the wood as moderately durable; highly resistant to attack by dry-wood termites; not resistant to marine borers. Preservation: If there is good end-grain exposure, absorption and penetration of preserving solutions are adequate using either open-tank or pressure-vacuum systems. .795 kg cum 
Working Characteristics: The wood is moderately difficult to work and resulting surfaces, especially in planing, are fair to poor due to the coarse texture and frequent grain irregularity. The wood turns well and takes a good finish if filler is first applied. 
Common Uses: Uses: Heavy construction work, boat building, flooring, furniture components, turnery, railroad crossties, and tool handles 
General :

Tree of 10 to 20 meters of height,found in Southeastern the Amazon region and. Its wood is used for civil and naval construction, pisos, boxes and packings, furniture, compensated, etc. 620 kg low resistance

Other common names: Malugay (Philippines), Matoa (PNG) 
Distribution: Taun has a wide natural distribution throughout Papua New Guinea, South East Asia,and in the Pacific as far as Fiji and Samoa. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Taun is a moderately hard and heavy timber. The heartwood ranges in colour from a pale or pink brown to a dark red brown, while the sapwood is pale brown to pink. The grain is usually straight or slightly interlocked, with a moderately coarse texture. The timber is non-siliceous, strong and stiff. Heartwood is reddish-brown with hints of pink which darkens with age. Sapwood is not always distinguishable from heartwood, and is commonly pale pink to buff. Texture is uniform and medium to coarse, with an interlocking grain. Taun heartwood is only moderately durable and should not be used in contact with ground. It may however be used externally. The sapwood is susceptible to borer attack and is very difficult to impregnate with preservative. The timber is moderately durable but is susceptible to attack by Lyctus Borer, pinhole borer, marine borer and blue stain. The heartwood cannot be preservative treated satisfactorily by pressure methods. The sapwood is moderately resistant to impregnation. 680 to 730kg/m3 Moderately durable Stable 
Working Characteristics: Taun is suitable for bending, turning an d gluing While taun is reasonably easy to work, dust from sanding may be an irritant to mucous membranes. Taun is readily sawn with little blunting effect. It planes well, but has a slight tendency to chip at cross grain junctions. It has good bending properties and peels smoothly, particularly after hot water conditioning. It also slices easily 
Common Uses: Flooring, Internal lining, External cladding, joinery, veneer Taun is used for cladding, fascia and barge boards, lining, panelling, internal flooring, cooperage, cabinet work, turnery, veneers, and plywood. It has also been used in boat building.. Typical end uses joinery, furniture, turnery, flooring, panelling cabinet work, musical instruments and boat building being some uses. 
General :

Other common names:  
Distribution: One of the few hardwood trees of commercial importance in New Zealand, Tawa is a native of New Zealand.  While the vast majority of the species is grown in the central North Island, the total forested area is now small. 
Tree Data: The Tawa tree is a medium to tall forest tree reaching a height of 25 metres and a trunk diameter of up to 1 metre developing buttress roots as it matures.
Timber Properties : The heartwood is creamy brown, sometimes containing dark brown or black streaks, the sapwood an even white. 720 kg/m3 Non durable 
Working Characteristics: The timber machines very well, and is one of the traditional timbers used in high quality flooring and panelling. Both sapwood and heartwood need to be preservative treated to inhibit insect attack. 
Common Uses: Tawa makes attractive and hardwearing flooring. Flooring, panelling, dowel manufacture, and other turning applications. Today used for papermaking, floors, paneling and furnishing. Same family as Bay tree (laurel). The fruit (plums) was soaked and pulped to use as food by the Maori people.
General : Its ability to be burnt from green undoubtedly accounted for the loss of large volumes of this timber in the early days. Tawa cannot be exported without a licence.

New Zealand

Distribution: New Zealand

Other common names:  Beech,  Silver beech

Tree Data: Cherry-like bark on young trees. Greyish white and furrowed on old trees.Cherry-like bark on young trees. Greyish white and furrowed on old trees. Grows to a height of 30m

Timber Properties : Reddish, even, compact straight grain. Straight grained, durable, not resistant in water.

Common Uses: Past – wharf and bridge building, railway sleepers. Present – furniture and decorative work.

Other common names:  Beech, Red Beech, Hard beech

Distribution: New Zealand

Tree Data: Grows to a height of 30m has smooth whitish bark when young torning grey and becoming deeply furrowed with age. Bright red leaves turning leathery.

Timber light to medium brown heartwood and light brown sapwood

Uses - structural and fencing - most dyrable of new Zealands beeches

see also Leptospermum scoparium 

see Kanuka

see Manuka

Tree of 20 to 35 meters of height, found in Southeastern the Amazon region and. Its wood is used for civil construction, pisos, would marcenaria, internal finishings, etc. 770 kg moderately durable 

Other common names: Burma teak, Rangoon teak, moulmein teak, gia thi, jati sak, kyun, mai sak, rosawa, and many other local names. 
Distribution: Grows in Indonesia, India, and Central America. 
Tree Data: Teak is very fast growing, and on favourable sites may reach 130 to 150 feet in height with clear boles of 80 to 90 feet. The trunks are cylindrical to fluted and may reach 3 to 5 feet in diameter. 
Timber Properties : Generally straight grained with a coarse, uneven texture, medium lustre and an oily feel. Yellow brown to dark golden brown heartwood and greyish or white sapwood. Moderately hard and heavy, with low stiffness and shock resistance, moderate bending strength, moderate steam bending, and excellent decay resistance and dimensional stability. Good acid resistance. Teak is a beautiful golden to dark brown, sometimes reddish brown, with a straight grain, sometimes wavy. Teak is rich in natural oils, is easily worked, and dresses to a very smooth finish. Because of its natural oils, teak is very durable and resistant to moisture and the drying effects of exposure to weather. Teak is unique in that it does not cause rust or corrosion when in contact with metal True Teak exhibits a wide range of colours when fresh cut, from pale yellows to orange browns with darker striping, all of which mellows into medium brown tones. True Teak undergoes an extreme degree of colour change with pronounced colour change from the highly variegated colouring found in material fresh sanded which then darkens to a golden brown with substantial muting of the initial colour range over time. Costa Rica Brazilian Teak is usually colour sorted into medium and dark range selections in which the tan brownish tones are offered in the regular (or medium) selection while the dark reddish browns are offered in the dark selection. Brazilian Teak colour range will slightly mute over time into a more uniform colour in the range offered.  
Working Characteristics: Works reasonably well with hand or machine tools but silica in wood is tough on cutting edges and machine dust can be an irritant. Good turning and carving properties. Gluing best done on freshly cut surfaces due to oily nature. Pre-drilling recommended for screwing and nailing. Stains and finishes well although natural oils can cause adhesion difficulties. 
Common Uses: Has numerous uses including ship building (especially decks), indoor or outdoor furniture, high class joinery, flooring, panelling, plywood, decorative veneers, turnery, carving, chemical tanks and vats Teak is a very valuable wood and is prized throughout the world. It is sought for the decks, trim and detail work in expensive boats, and fine furniture, flooring, carving, joinery, cabinetwork, paneling, turnery and veneer. Teak is famous the world over as a superior shipbuilding wood. It combines ease of working with strength, resistance to decay and to warping and checking with changes of moisture and temperature. It is used for decking, deck housings, armor backing, furniture, porch floors, interior trim, wood carving, cabinets, etc. Teak comes principally from Burma and Thailand. 
General : Teak has been heavily exploited for more than a century and is increasingly difficult to obtain. It is listed as endangered. Teak has been prized for centuries as one of the worlds most durable and stable woods for outdoor use. Brazilian Teak, Cumaru Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Brazilian Teak & Brazilian Chestnut are the same species

see Teak, Burmese

see Teak, Burmese

Other common names: Zambesi redwood, umgusi, mukushi and mukusi. 
Distribution: Grows in Zambia and Zimbabwe. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Fine even texture, straight or slightly interlocked grain, red-brown heartwood, often with black flecks, and much paler sapwood. Very heavy and hard with a high resistance to abrasion. Rates high in bending and crushing strength, decay resistance, and stability in service. 
Working Characteristics: Has excellent turning properties but is otherwise difficult to work. Has a severe blunting effect on cutting edges and tends to burn during machining. Pre-drilling required for screwing and nailing. Glues, stains, and finishes well 
Common Uses: Used for turned objects, flooring, furniture, wagons and railroad construction. 
General :

Other common names:  
Distribution: B. plurijuga is found growing in Kalahari sand areas, where it is extensively protected by large areas of National Park and Forestry Reserve within Zimbabwe 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : An attractive, even-textured hardwood which is extremely durable. Dark red-brown in colour and fine grained, 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses:  
General :. 

BrazilGolden Teak, Ruby Teak and Brown Teak as their names depict there true colors. Aging produces no significant color change.

BrazilGolden Teak, Ruby Teak and Brown Teak as their names depict there true colors. Aging produces no significant color change.

Sapwood is not well-defined from the heartwood, which is light yellow-brown, darkening on exposure to deep golden or orange-brown. Grain is straight to slightly wavy. Texture is fine and even. Suitable for heavy construction, bridges, wharves, heavy-duty flooring, parquet flooring, panelling, heavy-duty furniture, turnery, wooden mathematical instruments and drawing boards.