CONTRIBUTORS - WOOD WORKS
Araucaria columnaris. Image: www.gbif.org
These lofty, erect, evergreen coniferous trees are
confined nowadays to the more humid, temperate and
sub-tropical areas of the southern hemisphere and
can reach heights of over 40m. Two Araucaria trees in
South Africa are recognised as champions in
Liebenberg’s Champion Trees of South Africa (2015).
They are the Ardene Norfolk Island Pine (42.6m) in
the Ardene Gardens, Claremont, Cape Town and the
Theological Seminary Tree (46m) in Stellenbosch.
The wood produced by Araucaria trees has a pale
yellowish or pinkish-brown inner true or false
heartwood, which may have red streaks, and an outer
whitish to yellowish sapwood. Only a few species
form true heartwood. The wood is slightly resinous,
straight-grained, with a fine and even texture and a
low to medium density. It is moderately strong, stiff
and tough in relation to its weight, but it lacks
natural durability.
Uses of the wood include light construction,
joinery, general carpentry, window frames, doors,
utility furniture, aircraft frames, broom heads and
handles, staves for casks, box shooks, turnery, carving
and fuelwood. Logs can be peeled without steaming
for veneer, plywood, match splints, match box skillets
and battery separators. The fibres (tracheids) of
Araucaria wood are long and suitable for blending
with hardwood fibres for pulp.
// JUNE / JULY 2017 51