Major varieties of Indian Timber

Enlist and briefly describe major varieties of Indian timber.

1.     Deodar: Deodar is a conifer. It is light in weight. It is yellowish-whitish in colour and shows large knots. It is water resistant and also termite resistant. It is highly durable. It has a moderate strength. It is used for export packaging, false ceiling, panelling and light furniture.

2.     Teak wood. Teak wood is a major timber used in India. It is deciduous/broad leaf tree. It is medium in weight. It has brown colour and close fibres. It is water resistant, termite resistant and is highly durable. It is strong and attractive. It is easy to work on since it possesses good machinability.

3.     Sal wood.  It is a broad-leaf tree. It is heavy in weight. It is durable but is not water resistance. It is not attached by white ants. Its colour is brown but cannot take polish well. It has a good machinability. It is used for door frames, ceiling frames, panelling frames, partition frames and other furniture which are to be painted.

4.     Walnut. It is a broad leaf tree. It is moderately durable and moderately water resistant. It is moderate in weight. It has a brown colour, darker than teak. On polishing grain show food appearance. Its machinability is good and is easy to carve out.

5.     Mahogany. It is a broad leaf tree. It is fairly strong and water resistant. It is red brown in colour with fine grains figure and it takes good polish. It is heavy in weight. Its machinability is good. Can be used to make all the furniture. The tree population in India is poor.

6.     Sisoo. It is a broad leaf tree and heavy in weight. Its durability is good and, is strong. The colour is darker brown and is close grained. It has fair water resistance. Can be used to make most of the furniture. [It is called Shisam in North India.]

7.     Rosewood. It is the most expensive timber in India. It is a broad leaf tree and very heavy in weight. It is highly durable, strong, tough and water resistance. It is not attached by termites. It has fairly good machinability. It has dark-gray/black grains with red/brown background. It takes high polish and is very attractive. It is used for expensive furniture of any kind and is very popular amongst Hindus for Mandir [Small temple in Home], since red colour is holy/pious to them.

There are some more varieties of timber that are used in India occasionally. These are

a] Ash, b] Silver oak, c] Aini, d] Babul, d] Mango, etc. Bamboo is also abundantly used for scaffolding and laddering. Bamboo, since it is an endogenous tree, is normally not covered as Timber. Cane, another endogenous tree, is also used for making chairs, sofas, beds and racks.