Ramin
Scientific name
Gonystylus spp. (mixed group comprised of over 20 species). Family: Gonystylaceae
Other names
Melawis (Malaysia); mavota (Fiji); nununa (Solomon Islands); bagyo; lanutan (Philippines)
Description
- Medium to tall hardwood.
- Grows to 50m high and 1.2m diameter on good sites.
- Straight bole (trunk) and aerial roots but no true buttress.
- Bark is grey, brown, or red-brown, scaly and covered in very fine irritating hairs.
- Stems are sometimes fluted at the base.
Occurrence
- Species marketed as ramin occur in:
- Malaysia
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Papua New Guinea
- Fiji.
- Grows in coastal swamps and peat forests but can also found in low altitude rainforests.
Appearance
Colour
- Sapwood not distinct from heartwood.
- Sapwood is a uniform, pale straw or cream white.
Grain
- Grain is straight or shallowly interlocked.
- Texture moderately fine to even.
Uses
- Construction: protected framing, internal flooring.
- Decorative: furniture, plywood, turnery, picture frames, mouldings and joinery, veneer, carving, panelling.
- Others: non-impact tool handles, toys, dowels, drawers.
Properties
- Density: 630kg/m3 at 12% moisture content; about 1.6m3 of seasoned sawn timber per tonne.
- Strength groups: S4 unseasoned, SD4 seasoned.
- Stress grades: F7, F8, F11, F14 (unseasoned); F11, F14, F17, F22 (seasoned) when visually stress-graded according to AS 2082—2000: Timber—Hardwood—Visually stress-graded for structural purposes.
- Joint groups: JD3 seasoned.
- Shrinkage to 12% MC: 4.5% (tangential), 1.7% (radial).
- Unit shrinkage: 0.13% (tangential), 0.16% (radial)—these values apply to timber of G. macrophyllus 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: untreated sapwood susceptible to lyctid borer attack.
- Termite resistance: not resistant.
- Preservation: relatively easy to impregnate with preservatives.
- Seasoning: seasons well but may be prone to surface checking and end splits, particularly in thicker sections; prone to sap stain fungi attack.
- Hardness: firm (rated 4 on a 6-class scale) to indent and work with hand tools.
- Machining: easy to work to a smooth finish with hand and machine tools, although cutting edges can blunt moderately.
- Fixing: screws well, pre-drill when nailing near board ends to prevent splitting.
- Gluing: glues well.
- Finishing: painting, staining and polishing characteristics are good.
Identification features
General characteristics
- Sapwood: not differentiated by colour.
- Heartwood: cream white to pale straw.
- Texture: moderately fine, uniform, generally straight grain.
Wood structure
- Vessels: solitary and radial groups up to 4 cells, medium size, uniform distribution; vessel lines visible but not prominent.
- Parenchyma (soft tissue):aliform with thin extended wings, sometimes confluent.
- Rays: fine.
Other features
- Burning splinter test: wood burns to ash.
Research and resources
- Bootle, K 2005, Wood in Australia: Types, properties and uses, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, Sydney.
- 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.
- Last reviewed: 12 Dec 2018
- Last updated: 12 Dec 2018