Thread: New Caledonia

Originally Posted by Runge

Hi Folks,

It seems that two of the densest timbers in New Caledonia are;

1. Xanthostemon ruber
2. Pleurocalyptus pancheri

Has anyone ever seen either of these two timbers? How would I get a few IWCS samples of these species?

Wondering if X ruber is similar to Solomon Island Queen Ebony,which is an Xanthostemon as well,hard,heavy and dense,not unlike the Xanthostemons that grow in this country(and are commonly called Pendas(Cherry,Black etc)..MM

My thoughts too MM. In fact I think some of the (sold as) Solomon Island Queen Ebony
comes from New Caledonia.

As for the P pancheri, I haven't got a clue.

Mapleman, I assume that the timber of X. ruber is somewhat similar to X. melanoxylon.

My idea was to cast a wider net in a search for dense timer rather than just looking with the genus Xanthostemon. Between the genus Xanthostemon and the Family Myrtaceae, there is the tribe Xanthostemoneae with three genera:

Xanthostemon (49 species)
Pleurocalyptus (2 species)
Purpureostemon (1 species)

There are two books that I have located which describe timbers from New Caledonia. The first is very old but the I've never seen the second.

Catalog Record: Notice sur les bois de la Nouvelle... | Hathi Trust Digital Library
Bois et fore

New Caledonia has 20 Xanthostemon species, both Pleurocalyptus species and the one Purpureostemon species. The really dense Xanthostemons of which I am directly aware are

• X. verdugonianus
• X. melanoxylon
• X. petiolatus
• X. verus

My guess is that X. ruber belongs in this group. By the way, Artme, I think most of the X. melanoxylon is coming from here ( https://maps.google.com/maps?q=-8.44...28967&t=h&z=10).

Thanks for the map Runge!

One thing that has been commented on over here, particularly by pen turners,
is that X.melanoxylon is a species that split easily.
Whether this is due to poor seasoning or other factors is open to conjecture.
It may simply be a mongrel timber.

It would be interesting to see how the other Xanthostemons perform.

I have cut small pieces of our Golden penda - xanthostemon Chrysanthus - for trial turning.
It is dense and hard but very bland (white). Maybe more mature specimens would show some colour.

Originally Posted by artme

Thanks for the map Runge!

One thing that has been commented on over here, particularly by pen turners,
is that X.melanoxylon is a species that split easily.
Whether this is due to poor seasoning or other factors is open to conjecture.
It may simply be a mongrel timber.

It would be interesting to see how the other Xanthostemons perform.

I have cut small pieces of our Golden penda - xanthostemon Chrysanthus - for trial turning.
It is dense and hard but very bland (white). Maybe more mature specimens would show some colour.

I have heard the same warnings about X. melanoxylon. It seems that X. verdugonianus is more forgiving.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5354560&type=1