Intsia bijuga - brazilwood family

Merbau is one of the exotic trees most often used in Europe and America. It is perfect in both public use rooms and in private homes – due to its hardness (30% harder than oak), it is also called Moluccan iron-wood. 

Merbau wood is used in the production of floors, stairs, chemical packaging and for port buildings: decks and other elements that are in contact with water. Moreover, its bark and leaves are used in therapeutics. 

Merbau, also called kwila, grows mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia,
and thus in the territory of three natural zones (Asian, Australian and Polynesian). The favorable climate causes the tree to reach dimensions
of even 40 m in height, with a trunk diameter of up to 100 cm. 

Characteristic of merbau are the visible golden-yellow crystals of mineral salts, which make the wood appear to be subtly interlaced with gold thread.

Curiosities

• One of the decided advantages of merbau over species of European wood, besides its unusual hardness, is its natural resistance to the action of fungi and insects. For this reason merbau wood is readily used for, among other things, railroads, construction near water
  and in the chemical industry.
• Merbau is also excellent in interior arrangements of buildings,
  on terraces and in gardens.  

Hardness on the Brinell scale: 48 MPa

Change in colour from exposure to sunlight: with time, merbau intensely changes colour. The colour variation becomes more uniform, approaching a deep orange-brown colour.  

Density: 900 kg/m³

Installation over floor heating: possible