Meranti
Meranti refers to a group of tropical hardwoods that come from different species of the genus Shorea from the wing fruit family. A distinction is made between the following subgroups: Light Red Meranti , Dark Red Meranti or Red Meranti , Yellow Meranti , White Meranti . Synonyms for Meranti are Seraya and Balau .
origin
Meranti wood mainly grows in the dipterocarp forests of Malaysia , Brunei and Indonesia . The current trading focus is Malaysia and Indonesia. However, its natural range includes the entire Southeast Asian area. According to the assessment of environmental organizations, Meranti comes to a large extent from illegal logging and is z. B. smuggled from Indonesia to Malaysia. That is why his work is criticized by the WWF and Robin Wood if the origin from sustainably used forests is not certified with the FSC seal.
description
The trees reach heights of up to 45 meters and more. The trunks have a maximum diameter of 1.5 meters and can be up to 25 meters free of knots. The color of the wood varies from reddish brown in the heartwood to yellowish and gray-pink in the sapwood. The wood is interlocking and has large pores. Axial resin channels run in tangential bands on the cross-sections, but are also visible to the naked eye as thin, light stripes on the longitudinal surfaces. In the parenchyma there are silicate crystals. The different Meranti species can only be distinguished by their color and density, but not macroscopically.
properties
The properties of this wood species group vary with the density of the wood. A characteristic of Meranti is the intensification of the wood color with the increase in density. Dark Red Meranti achieves the strength properties of oak and has good staying power. It is easy to work with, knife and peel, glue and polish. The heartwood is durable to moderately durable against fungal and insect attack. Light Red Meranti does not achieve these qualities. Light Red Meranti can have a bulk density of approx. 0.53 g / cm³ and Dark Red Meranti of over 0.7 g / cm³. According to the Malaysian Grading Rules , which are also accepted by retailers in Germany, Dark Red Meranti must have a bulk density of at least 0.55 g / cm³. However, this is hardly ever achieved, as the high-quality stocks are running out and other species are now being illegally added to the Meranti range. This means that the strength and durability of the range leave more and more to be desired.
use
Meranti wood is used in a variety of ways: for veneer and plywood production, for furniture production, in interior construction or also for windows and doors. Dark Red Meranti is an ideal window wood due to its properties and low maintenance requirements.
See also
Web links
- Leaflet Red Meranti (PDF; 2.29 MB), from sda22649b13e21108.jimcontent.com, accessed on November 14, 2016.
- Leaflet White Meranti (PDF; 265 kB), from sda22649b13e21108.jimcontent.com, accessed on November 14, 2016.
- Yellow Meranti on gdholz.net, accessed on November 15, 2016.