|
Color/Appearance: Heartwood is light reddish brown, demarcated sapwood is pale yellow to nearly white. Color tends to darken with age.
Grain/Texture: Grain is straight, with a medium, even texture.
Rot Resistance: The heartwood is rated as moderate to low in decay resistance.
Workability: Overall, Maritime Pine works fairly well with most tools, though the resin can gum up tools and clog sandpaper. Maritime Pine glues and finishes well.
Odor: Maritime Pine has a distinct, resinous odor when being worked.
Allergies/Toxicity: Working with pine has been reported to cause allergic skin reactions and/or asthma-like symptoms in some people. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information.
Pricing/Availability: Maritime Pine is extensively grown on plantations in France, Spain, and Portugal for use as construction lumber. Prices within its natural range should be moderate.
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: Paper (pulpwood), flooring, boxes/crates, and construction lumber.
Comments: Although Maritime Pine has been grown on plantations throughout the world, its use outside of Europe has been largely replaced by Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata)because it reportedly provides larger and better lumber. However, Maritime Pine is still an important plantation tree within Europe, and provides not only lumber, but also resin for turpentine.
|