Wood Handbook, Wood as an Engineering Material

resinous like some keruing (Dipterocarpus) species that re-

semble meranti. All the meranti groups are machined easily

except white meranti, which dulls cutters as a result of high

silica content in the wood. The light red and white merantis

dry easily without degrade, but dark red and yellow meran-

tis dry more slowly with a tendency to warp. The strength

and shrinkage properties of the meranti groups compare

favorably with that of northern red oak (Quercus rubra).

The light red, white, and yellow merantis are not durable

in exposed conditions or in ground contact, whereas dark

red meranti is moderately durable. Generally, heartwood is

extremely resistant to moderately resistant to preservative

treatments.

Species of meranti constitute a large percentage of the total

hardwood plywood imported into the United States. Other

uses include joinery, furniture and cabinetwork, moulding

and millwork, flooring, and general construction. Some

dark red meranti is used for decking.

Merbau

Merbau (Malaysia), ipil

(Philippines), and kwila

(New Guinea) are names

applied to species of the

genus Intsia, most com-

monly I. bijuga. Intsia is

distributed throughout

the Indo–Malaysian

region, Indonesia,

Philippines, and many western Pacific islands, as well

as Australia.

Freshly cut yellowish to orange–brown heartwood turns

brown or dark red–brown on exposure to air. The texture

is rather coarse, and the grain is straight to interlocked or

Table 2–2. Woods belonging to the genus Shorea

Name Color

Density

of air-dried wood

Dark red meranti

(also called

tanguile and dark

red seraya)

Dark brown, medium

to deep red, sometimes

with a purplish tinge

640+ kg m–3

(40+ lb ft–3)

Light red

meranti (also

called red seraya)

Variable—almost white

to pale pink, dark red,

pale brown, or deep

brown

400–640 kg m–3,

averaging 512 kg m–3

(25–40 lb ft–3,

averaging 32 lb ft–3)

White meranti

(also called

melapi)

Whitish when freshly

cut, becoming light

yellow–brown on

exposure to air

480–870 kg m–3

(30–54 lb ft–3)

Yellow meranti

(also called

yellow seraya)

Light yellow or yellow–

brown, sometimes with

a greenish tinge; darkens

on exposure to air

480–640 kg m–3

(30–40 lb ft–3)

but most abundant in the
Guianas and the lower
Amazon region of Brazil.
The heartwood is gener-
ally yellowish to dark
brown, sometimes with a
reddish tinge. The texture
is fine and close, and the
grain is usually straight. Marishballi is strong and very
heavy; density of air-dried wood is 833 to 1,153 kg m–3
(52 to 72 lb ft–3). The wood is rated as easy to moderately
difficult to air dry. Because of its high density and silica
content, marishballi is difficult to work. The use of hard-
ened cutters is suggested to obtain smooth surfaces. Dura-
bility varies with species, but marishballi is generally con-
sidered to have low to moderately low resistance to attack
by decay fungi. However, it is known for its high resistance
to attack by marine borers. Permeability also varies, but the
heartwood is generally moderately responsive to treatment.

Marishballi is ideal for underwater marine construction,
heavy construction above ground, and railroad crossties
(treated).

Mata-Mata

(see Manbarklak)

Mayflower

(see Roble)

Melapi

(see Meranti Groups)

Meranti Groups

Meranti is a common
name applied commer-
cially to four groups of
species of Shorea from
southeast Asia, most com-
monly Malaysia, Indone-
sia, and the Philippines.
There are thousands of
common names for the various species of Shorea, but the
names Philippine mahogany and lauan are often substituted
for meranti. The four groups of meranti are separated on the
basis of heartwood color and weight (Table 2–2). About 70
species of Shorea belong to the light and dark red meranti
groups, 22 species to the white meranti group, and 33 spe-
cies to the yellow meranti group.

Meranti species as a whole have a coarser texture than that
of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and do not have
dark-colored deposits in pores. The grain is usually inter-
locked. All merantis have axial resin ducts aligned in long,
continuous, tangential lines as seen on the end surface of
the wood. These ducts sometimes contain white deposits
that are visible to the naked eye, but the wood is not

General Technical Report FPL–GTR– 190