This book introduces 370 species of tropical hardwood. As international trade increases, people need more information on exotic species, their properties, and what woods can be substituted for those no longer available. To answer these questions, information has to be gleaned from publications by other scientists around the world. The average person who needs technical data does not have access to the hundreds of rare publications that contain the information. Even if such documentation were pulled together from a variety of sources, the seeker might discover the information was given in several languages and often based on nonuniform test methods, descriptions, or measurements. How can one compare and choose?
To fill this need, Martin Chudnoff has compiled information on the better known tropical species, put the data on a common basis, and assembled it in a brief, useful form. To accomplish this, he drew on his training as a forester and wood technologist and his many years of forest products research in tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
Introduction
Filling a Need
Reporting Format
Literature Cited–Introduction
Part I – Tropical American Species
Tree and Wood Characteristics
Literature Cited–Tropical American Species
Part II – African Species
Tree and Wood Characteristics
Literature Cited–African Species
Part III – Southeast Asian and Oceanian Species
Tree and Wood Characteristics
Literature Cited–Southeast Asian and Oceanian Species
Part IV – Comparative Tables of Properties and End Uses
Explanatory Notes for Table IV–1.–Physical and Mechanical Properties
Explanatory Notes for Table IV-2.–Uses
Literature Cited–Properties and End Uses
Table IV–1
Table IV–2
Appendix A.– Selected Forest Products Reference Material
Appendix B.– Generic Synonyms
Appendix C.– Generic Groupings
Appendix D.– Derivation of Comparative Toughness Values in Table IV–1
Appendix E.– Kiln Schedules
Index of Trade and Important Common Names