Ilimo (PNG); binuang (Philippines, Sarawak); benuang (Indonesia); fote; rara (Solomon Islands)

• Grows to 60m high and 1.5m diameter.
• Trees are of good form, and often heavily buttressed.
• Bark is grey-white to grey-brown with shallow fissures.

• Occurs on rich, alluvial soils along rivers in:
  • Sabah
  • Sumatra
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Philippines
  • Solomon Islands.
• Major markets are Japan and Hong Kong; however, it’s sometimes imported into Australia.

Colour

• Heartwood is yellow-brown, occasionally with a purplish tinge.
• Sapwood is somewhat paler but not always clearly defined.

Grain

• Interlocking common, forms striped figure (pattern) on quarter-sawn stock.

• Construction: concrete formwork, plywood.
• Decorative: joinery, furniture.
• Others: packing cases, coffins, matchboxes, canoes, treated shingles.

• Density: 365kg/m³ at 12% moisture content; about 2.7m³ of seasoned sawn timber per tonne.
• Strength groups: S<7 unseasoned, SD8 seasoned.
• Stress grades: non-structural (unseasoned); F4, F5, F7, F8 (seasoned), when visually stress-graded according to AS 2082—2000: Timber—Hardwood—visually stress-graded for structural purposes.
• Joint groups: J6 unseasoned, JD6 seasoned.
• Shrinkage to 12% MC: 4.5% (tangential), 0.13% (radial).
• Unit shrinkage: 0.21% (tangential), 0.13% (radial)—these values apply to timber reconditioned after seasoning.
• Durability above-ground: Class 4 (life expectancy less than 7 years).
• Durability in-ground: Class 4 (life expectancy less than 5 years).
• Lyctine susceptibility: sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer attack.
• Termite resistance: not resistant.
• Preservation: sapwood readily impregnates with preservative; penetration of heartwood is unsatisfactory using available commercial processes.
• Seasoning: be careful to minimise degrade by distortion and checking.
• Hardness: very soft (rated 6 on a 6-class scale) to indent and work with hand tools.
• Machining: be careful due to softness; keep cutting edges sharp to avoid woolliness; generally easy to work.
• Fixing: poor rating for holding screws and nails.
• Gluing: satisfactorily bonds using standard procedures.
• Finishing: readily accepts paint, stain and polish; a good polish will give a silky, satin finish.

General characteristics

• Sapwood: white to grey-yellow with little distinction from heartwood.
• Heartwood: light yellowish brown; darkens on exposure.
• Texture: medium, open and uniform; grain often interlocked; moderate lustre on dressed radial surfaces.

Wood structure

• Vessels: solitary and radial pairs; diffuse uniform distribution; medium size, visible to the unaided eye; vessel lines are common but not distinctive.
• Parenchyma (soft tissue): not visible with hand lens.
• Rays: moderately fine; distinct as flecks on cut radial surfaces.

Other features

• Burning splinter test: match-size splinter burns to grey ash.

• Ilic, J 1991, CSIRO atlas of hardwoods, Crawford House Press, Bathurst, Australia.
• Queensland Government, DAF 2018, Construction timbers in Queensland: Properties and specifications for satisfactory performance of construction timbers in Queensland. Class 1 and Class 10 buildings, Books 1 & 2, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane.
• Standards Australia, 2000, AS 2082—2000: Timber—Hardwood—Visually stress-graded for structural purposes, Standards Australia International, Strathfield, NSW