USDA Forest Service
Forest Products Laboratory
One Gifford Pinchot Drive
Madison, WI 53705-2398
(608) 231-9200

Wood Technical Fact Sheet

 Canarium spp.

Kedondong

Family: Burseraceae

Other Common Names: Dhup, White Dhup (India), Kedondong (Malaya), Merdongdong

(Indonesia), Pagsahingin (Philippines), Kaunicina-Kaunigai (Fiji islands).

Distribution: Throughout southeastern Asia and reaching northward to Taiwan.

The Tree:

Commonly 80 to 100 ft in height with trunk diameters of 2 to 3 ft. Varies with

species and may reach a height of 180 ft with a diameter of 5 ft. Boles with small

to prominent buttresses.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood usually pink or light brown, sometimes with yell

streaks, or reddish brown; sapwood lighter and often not clearly demarcated. Textu

fine to moderately coarse; grain rather straight to shallowly interlocked; lustrous

without distinctive odor or taste. Silica content up to 1.68% is reported.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies with species,

mostly 0.35 to 0.52; air-dry density 26 to 40 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (2-in. standard)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

Green (7) 8,610 NA 4,280

Forest Products Laboratory toughness 140 in.-lb for green material (5/8-in. specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: Generally reported to season well with little degrade. Kiln schedule T10-D4S is suggested for 4/4 stock of low density C. euphyllum. Shrinkage green to ovendry for C. asperum: radial 5.1%; tangential 6.6%.

Working Properties: Generally easy to work but varies with species because of density range and presence or absence of silica.

Durability: Heartwood perishable and is readily attacked by termites. Sapwood is very susceptible to powder-post beetle infestation.

Preservation: Sapwood is permeable, but heartwood is highly resistant to preservative treatment.

Uses: Veneer and plywood, light construction (under cover), furniture components, joinery, boxes, and crates.

Additional Reading: (7), (9), (17), (47)