Color/Appearance: Heartwood is medium to dark reddish brown, frequently with bands of lighter and /or darker colored wood. Contrasting sapwood is pale yellow. Heartwood color tends to darken with age. Grain/Texture: Grain is usually interlocked. With a uniform coarse texture and good natural luster. Rot Resistance: Rated as non-durable; dry wood is reported to be resistant to termites. Workability: Moderately easy to work, though interlocked grain can cause tearout during surfacing operations. Has a moderate blunting effect on cutters. Turns, glues, and finishes well. Odor: No characteristic odor. Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, black siris has been reported to cause respiratory irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information. Pricing/Availability: Not commonly exported to North America (except as turning blanks). Lumber in longer and wider sizes, as well as veneer sheets, are available regionally within its natural range. Expect prices to be in the mid to upper range for an imported hardwood. Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, and is reported by the IUCN as being a species of least concern. Common Uses: Furniture, veneer, tool handles and other turned objects. Comments: Sometimes sold under the trade name bhilwara, so named for the city in India, presumably where the wood was harvested. It’s also known by the name Ceylon rosewood, though it is not a true rosewood in the Dalbergia genus. Within the commercial species of Albizia, black siris is one of the hardest and heaviest woods in the genus. Perhaps correlated, it also tends to have the darkest heartwood color as well. |