Scientific Name
Tarrietia sylvatica
Trade Name
Dungon
Family Name
Common Names
Chan thip, Dungon, Lau tau, Mascalwood, Palonapin, Resak, Taungsagaing
Regions of Distribution
Oceania and S.E. Asia
Countries of Distribution [VIEW MAP]
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
Environmental Profile
| Status has not been officially assessed |
Distribution Overview
Distributed in the Philippine Islands, from Luzon (Cagayan to Albay), Mindoro, Samar, Masbate, Panay, and Mindanao (Misamia and Davao). It is common in dry primary forests at low and medium elevations.
Heartwood Color
| Brown | ||||||||||||
| Reddish brown | ||||||||||||
| Dark chocolate |
Sapwood Color
| White | ||||||||||||
| Grey | ||||||||||||
| Pink | ||||||||||||
| Brown | ||||||||||||
| Pink to pale reddish brown | ||||||||||||
| Not clearly differentiated from the heartwood |
Width is 0.8 to 2 inches (2 to 5 cm)
Grain
| Figure | ||||||||||||
| Crossed |
| Sometimes curly | ||||||||||||
| Crossed |
Texture
| Coarse | ||||||||||||
| Smooth | ||||||||||||
| Fine | ||||||||||||
| Dense |
Luster
| Non-lustrous |
Natural Durability
| Durable | ||||||||||||
| Moderately durable | ||||||||||||
| Sapwood is readily attacked by insects and decay fungi | ||||||||||||
| Resistant to attack by marine borers | ||||||||||||
| Heartwood has high natural resistance to decay |
High natural resistance to decay when in contact with the ground or exposed to weather.
Odor
| No specific taste |
The wood has a peculiar odor similar to that of old leather
Drying Defects
Lumber should be piled carefully and heavily weighted to prevent warping
Ease of Drying
| Moderately Difficult to Difficult | ||||||||||||
| Thick Stock Requires Care | ||||||||||||
| Despite staining, timber seasons well |
The material is reported to season well, but logs and large timbers tend to develop deep splits during seasoning
Tree Size
| Tree height is 20-30 m | ||||||||||||
| Trunk diameter is 300-350 cm |
The tree is described as large
Comments
Deposits
The material is highly suitable for steam bent work where strength and durability are required.
The wood is reported to often contain large masses of stony deposits in old knots and cracks in the heart
Timber produced by Dungon is very similar to that from Dungon-late (Heritiera littoralis) in structure, color, density, and other physical characteristics.
Blunting Effect
| Severe dulling effect on tool edges |
Dulling effect on tool edges is severe because the wood is tough and also because of abrasive deposits
Cutting Resistance
| Easy to saw | ||||||||||||
| Difficult to saw |
Planing
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult | ||||||||||||
| Fair to Good Results | ||||||||||||
| Difficult to plane and machine in most operations due to high density |
The timber is reported to plane with difficulty, and other machining operations are equally difficult due to its toughness
Resistance to Impregnation
| Permeable sapwood | ||||||||||||
| Permeable heartwood |
Turning
| Very Good to Excellent Results |
Polishing
| Very Good to Excellent Results |
Strength Properties
| Very hard |
Bending strength in the air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content) is exceptionally high. It is far superior in strength to either Teak or Hard maple. It has superior properties in compression parallel to grain in the air-dry condition than Teak, White oak, or Hard maple. It is very hard – much harder than White oak, Hard maple, or Teak
Numerical Data
| Item | Green | Dry | English |
| Bending Strength | 12489 | 22999 | psi |
| Crushing Strength | 1714 | 2536 | psi |
| Hardness | 2846 | lbs | |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 6411 | 9520 | psi |
| Shearing Strength | 2021 | psi | |
| Static Bending | 7136 | 11318 | psi |
| Stiffness | 1603 | 2230 | 1000 psi |
| Toughness | 401 | inch-lbs | |
| Specific Gravity | 0.79 | 0.82 | |
| Item | Green | Dry | Metric |
| Bending Strength | 878 | 1617 | kg/cm2 |
| Crushing Strength | 120 | 178 | kg/cm2 |
| Hardness | 1290 | kg | |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 450 | 669 | kg/cm2 |
| Shearing Strength | 142 | kg/cm2 | |
| Static Bending | 501 | 795 | kg/cm2 |
| Stiffness | 112 | 156 | 1000 kg/cm2 |
| Toughness | 461 | cm-kg |
References
Desch, H. E. 1954. Manual of Malayan Timbers – Volume II. Malayan Forest Records, No. 15. Malaysia Publishing House Ltd., Singapore.
Lauricio, F. M., Bellosillo, S. B., The Mechanical and Related Properties of Philippine Woods, The Philippine Lumber Journal, 12(5):A-H.
Reyes, L.J. 1938. Philippine Woods. Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Technical Bulletin 7, Commonwealth of the Philippines, Bureau of Printing, Manila.
Schneider, E.E. 1916. Commercial Woods of the Philippines: Their Preparation and Uses. Bulletin No. 14. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Forestry, Manila, Philippines