Brush Box Timber – Lophostemon confertus

Brush Box AKA Box Brush

Wood Appearance

Colour – The heartwood ranges from pink-brown to red-brown but is often very variable between trees. The sapwood is usually slightly paler in colour.

Grain – Close and even textured; often with curly interlocking grain.

Wood Properties

Density – 880 kg/m3

Durability – Class 3 – Moderately resistant to decay when fully exposed to the weather, clear of the ground and well drained with free air circulation. Not recommended for in-ground use.

Hardness – Hard (rated 2 on a 6 class scale) in relation to indentation and ease of working with hand tools

Identification Features

Sapwood – Pale greyish-brown

Heartwood – Pink brown to red-brown, often very variable between trees.

Texture – Fine and uniform, grain often interlocked.

Wood Structure

Growth rings – Absent

Vessels – Small, visible with the aid of a lens, numerous, solitary and diffuse; tyloses common.

Parenchyma – Not visible under a lens

Rays – Fine, indistinct under a lens

Other Features

Burning Splinter Test – Produces a full ash, white to brown in colour.