Radiata pine

• Medium-sized tree.
• Grows 40–50m.
• Stem to 1m diameter.
• Branches are usually large and spreading.
• Pinecones are clearly visible on the tree.
• Bark is grey to red-brown, thick, rough, deeply fissured and sheds in small flakes.

• Native to a very small area of the west coast of North America.
• Major plantation species throughout the world, especially in:
  • New Zealand
  • Chile
  • South Africa
  • Australia—grown in all states and the ACT but commercial plantings in Queensland are confined to the southern highlands.
• Sawn timber is readily available.

Colour

• Heartwood is reddish brown varying to shades of yellow.
• Sapwood is usually pale yellow to white.

Grain

• Generally straight.
• Often pronounced difference in colour between earlywood and latewood results in a very distinctive figure (pattern) when back-sawn.

• Engineering: preservative-impregnated poles for pole-frame construction, transmission poles and land poles.
• Construction: general purpose softwood used as dressed, seasoned timber in general house framing, flooring, lining, joinery, mouldings and laminated beams; preservative-impregnated timber in sawn or round form in fencing, pergolas, landscaping, retaining walls, playground equipment; manufacture of Scrimber.
• Decorative: furniture, outdoor furnishings (preservative-impregnated), plywood, joinery, turnery, carving.
• Others: structural plywood, scaffold planks, wood wool, paper products, particleboard, and medium-density fibreboard.

• Density: Australia—545kg/m³ at 12% moisture content; about 1.8m³ of seasoned sawn timber per tonne; New Zealand—490kg/m³, about 2m³/t.
• Strength groups: Australia—S6 unseasoned, SD6 seasoned. New Zealand—S7 unseasoned, SD6 seasoned.
• Stress grades: Australia—F4, F5, F7, F8 (unseasoned), F5, F7, F8, F11, F14 (seasoned); New Zealand—F4, F5, F7 (unseasoned), F5, F7, F8, F11, F14 (seasoned) when visually stress-graded according to AS 2858—2008: Timber—Softwood—Visually stress-graded for structural purposes.
• Joint groups: Australia—J4 unseasoned, JD4 seasoned; New Zealand—JD4 seasoned.
• Shrinkage to 12% MC: 5.1% (tangential), 3.4% (radial).
• Unit shrinkage: 0.27% (tangential), 0.20% (radial)—these values apply to timber reconditioned after seasoning.
• Lyctine susceptibility: sapwood is not susceptible to lyctine borer attack.
• Termite resistance: not resistant.
• Durability above-ground: Class 4 (life expectancy less than 7 years).
• Durability in-ground: Class 4 (life expectancy less than 5 years).
• Preservation: plantation trees have a high proportion of sapwood, which readily impregnates with commercial preservative. Heartwood can’t be adequately treated using available commercial processes.
• Seasoning: to avoid distortion, framing sizes should be dried using high temperatures; boards may be air-dried or kiln-dried at conventional or high temperatures.
• Hardness: soft (rated 5 on a 6-class scale) to indent and work with hand tools.
• Machining: machines, and turns well, but keep planer blades sharp to avoid surface ridging.
• Fixing: nails may occasionally follow the growth rings; use nail guns for good results.
• Gluing: glue can absorb differently between earlywood and latewood, but this rarely causes problems.
• Finishing: readily accepts paint, stain and polish.

General characteristics

• Sapwood: pale yellow.
• Heartwood: reddish brown, varying to shades of yellow.
• Texture: non-uniform, consisting of alternating bands of earlywood and latewood; straight grain; knots usually present in constructional timber grades.

Wood structure

• Growth rings: clearly visible, latewood forms a dense dark band; false rings are rare; abrupt transition from earlywood to latewood.
• Vessels: absent.
• Resin canals: numerous, prominent as lines, on dressed longitudinal surfaces.
• Parenchyma: absent.
• Rays: fine, visible with a lens.

Other features

• Odour: wood generally has a resinous odour.

• Ilic, J 1991, CSIRO atlas of hardwoods, Crawford House Press, Bathurst, Australia.
• Queensland Government, DAF 2018, Construction timbers in Queensland: Properties and specifications for satisfactory performance of construction timbers in Queensland. Class 1 and Class 10 buildings, Books 1 & 2, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane.
• Standards Australia, 2000, AS 2858-2008: Timber—Softwood —Visually stress-graded for structural purposes, Standards Australia International, Strathfield, NSW.