Asia

Tree Data
The trees are reported to attain a height of 100 feet (30 m) or more, with trunk diameter of up to 36 inches (90 cm). Boles are sometimes fluted.

Sapwood Color
The sapwood is not clearly demarcated from the heartwood and is described as yellowish to straw in color. Width is reported to be usually 1.5 to 3 inches (3.8 to 7.6 cm).

Heartwood Color

Heartwood color is reported to vary from pale pink to reddish brown or purple brown, sometimes with darker streaks.

Grain
The grain is straight to shallowly interlocked. The timber is reported to resemble Makore, (Tieghemella heckellii ) in appearance, and has a moire or watered silk figure.

Texture
The texture is medium to coarse, and even.

Odor
Freshly milled wood is reported to have a slight unpleasant odor which is described as sour. There is no distinct taste.

Movement in Service
The material is reported to exhibit medium after manufacture.

Natural Durability
The heartwood is moderately resistant to decay and could last between 10 and 15 years in contact with the ground without chemical protection. It is vulnerable to termite attack, and the sapwood is susceptible to attack by powder-post beetle. Resistance to Impregnation The sapwood is reported to be permeable but the heartwood is very resistant to preservative treatment.

Toxic Constituents
Sawdust from some Palaquium timbers is reported to cause nose, skin, and throat irritation in some individuals.

Silica Content
Some Palaquium timbers are reported to be siliceous.

Strength Properties
Bending strength in the air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content) is high - comparable to Teak. Maximum crushing strength, or compression parallel to grain in the air-dry condition, is in the very high range. It is stronger than Hard maple, White oak, or Teak. It is fairly hard, resisting wear, denting, and marring fairly well. The weight is high.

Comments
Palaquium and Payena are reported to be two separate but closely related genera, which are very similar in characteristics. They produce wood that are usually grouped in the Nyatoh or Bitis class. Nyatoh is a commercial grouping of species whose air-dry weights fall mostly between 38 and 45 lb/cu.ft or 610 and 720 kg/cu.m, but may be up to to 55 lb/cu.ft (880 kg/cu.m). They are often mixed and marketed with other light to medium-weight, red-colored timbers. Timbers in the Bitis class are described as heavier, and have weights greater than 55 lb/cu.ft (880 kg/cu.m). They are referred to as Nyatoh batu in Sabah (Malaysia).

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