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Color/Appearance: Heartwood ranges from yellow to golden or reddish brown, darkening with age. Narrow white sapwood is differentiated from heartwood.
Grain/Texture: Grain is interlocked and sometimes wavy. Texture medium to coarse with a good natural luster. (The wood is also sometimes referred to as “silkwood” because of its luster.)
Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; medium to large pores in no specific arrangement, few; solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; heartwood mineral/gum deposits occasionally present; growth rings indistinct; medium to large rays may be just barely visible without lens, spacing wide; depending on species, parenchyma may be banded, or not visible at all.
Rot Resistance: Rated as non-durable regarding decay-resistance, with mixed resistance to various insect attacks.
Workability: Overall good working characteristics, though because of the interlocked grain, planing may result in tearout, particularly on quartersawn surfaces. Turns, glues, and finishes well.
Odor: Queensland Maple can have a distinct odor while being worked, particular when the wood is still green.
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Queensland Maple has been reported to cause skin and respiratory irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information.
Pricing/Availability: Seldom available in the United States, though prices are likely to be moderate for an imported Australian timber.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Common Uses: Furniture, cabinetry, veneer, musical instruments, gunstocks, and turned objects.
Comments: Although named Queensland Maple, this wood is not a true maple (Acer genus), but is instead contained in the Rutaceae family, which also contains many genera and species in the citrus family.
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