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

Wood Technical Fact Sheet

 Terminalia bialata

White Chuglam

Family: Combretaceae

Other Common Names: Indian Silver Greywood (Indian name for darker, usually figured wood).

Distribution: Andaman islands.

The Tree: Reaches a height of 100 to 160 ft with trunk diameters to 5 ft.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Bright chrome yellow aging to grayish yellow, sometimes light nut brown, olive brown, or yellow brown with irregular dark streaks; sapwood often very wide and not differentiated. Grain generally straight; texture medium to coarse; lustrous; without characteristic odor or taste.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.58; air-dry density 43 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (2-in. standard)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

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

Green (38) 11,050 1,760 5,585

13% 13,525 2,010 6,810

Janka side hardness 995 lb for green material and 1,190 lb for dry.

Drying and Shrinkage: Seasons easily with little or no degrade, air drying under cover is suggested. Kiln schedule T6-D2 is used for 4/4 stock and T3-D1 for 8/4. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 5.4%; tangential 7.4%; volumetric 13.2%. Veneers split excessively during drying.

Working Properties: Easy to saw and machine and to work with hand tools; dresses to a smooth finish; nailing and gluing are satisfactory.

Durability: Classified as moderately durable but is susceptible to pinhole borer and powder-post beetle attack.

Preservation: Reported to be moderately to extremely resistant to preservative treatments.

Uses: Furniture, cabinetwork, paneling, flooring, ships' fittings.

Additional Reading: (17), (38), (47)