Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae, the legume family; the cassia group.
Origin: Indo-Malayan region, Indonesia, Philippines, and many of the western Pacific Islands including Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and Fiji as well as Australia.
Other common names: Ipil, tat-talun, lumpha, lumpho, kwila and vesi.
The tree: Merbua is a large, deciduous tree, broad-crowned and often growing to heights of 100 ft. or more with rather short, thick boles, sometimes to 50 ft. and often fluted. It has a trunk diameter of 5 ft. above large, heavy, spreading buttresses with pronounced taproots and numerous lateral roots.
Appearance: The heartwood is yellowish to orange-brown when freshly cut, turning brown or dark red-brown with exposure and is sharply demarcated from the pale yellow or light buff sapwood. The grain is straight to interlocked or wavy yielding an attractive fiddleback figure. It has a rather coarse texture and a variable luster. The wood takes on a silverish cast when aged and weathered.
Density: Average reported specific gravity is 0.68(ovendry weight/green volume), equal to an air-dried weight of 53 pcf. Janka hardness is 1920 pounds of force.
Drying & shrinkage: It seasons well with little degrade and is dimensionally stable once in service. Average reported shrinkage values (green to ovendry) are 2.7% radial, 4.6% tangential and 7.8% volumetric.
Working properties: It is rather difficult to work with hand and machine tools because of gumming and dulling of cutting edges. It can be planed to smoothness and it finishes well. It is hard to nail but has excellent holding power. Possible adverse reactions from the dust include dermatitis and rhinitis.
Durability: Merbua is among the most decay-resistant timbers, being highly resistant to dry rot and fungi. It is also resistant to subterranean termites and other insects. Sapwood is susceptible to powder-post beetle attack. The sapwood can be treated but the heartwood is impermeable.
Uses: It is used extensively for flooring. Other common uses include furniture, paneling, fine joinery, cabinetmaking, musical instruments, decorative turnery and specialty items and is also a dye source.
Availability: It is obtainable from some of the major timber importers but other than flooring, it is not common in commercial use.