Pinus caribaea

Caribbean Pine

Family: Pinaceae

Other Common Names: Pino (generally in Latin America), Ocote (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua).

Distribution: Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Bahama Islands, and Cuba; widely introduced as a plantation species throughout the world (Australia, South Africa, Surinam, and elsewhere).

The Tree: Grows to a height of 100 ft and with trunk diameters of 30 to 40 in., occasionally larger. Boles are clear up to 70 ft and with moderate taper.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood generally golden brown to red brown and distinct from the lighter sapwood. Texture somewhat coarse; grain is typically straight; luster medium; strong resinous odor; growth zones generally clearly defined but often lacking in juvenile wood. Compression wood often present, at least in plantation-grown wood.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies considerably and may range from 0.34 to 0.68; air-dry density 26 to 51 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (First two sets of data based on the 2-in. standard; third set on the 1-in. standard.)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

Green (75) 11,190 1,880 4,900

12% 16,690 2,240 8,540

Green (1) 9,000 1,610 4,600

12% 14,700 1,950 7,830

12% (9) 8,830 920 NA

Janka side hardness 980 lb for green material and 1,240 lb at 12% moisture content. Forest Products Laboratory toughness average for green and dry material is 251 in.-lb. (5/8-in. specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: The timber air-seasons rather slowly with a tendency for end splitting in thick stock. Low density plantation wood reported to dry rapidly with no checking and only slight warp. Kiln schedule T1 0-D4S is suggested for 4/4 stock and T8-D3S for 8/4. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 6.3%; tangential 7.8%; volumetric 12.9%.

Working Properties: The timber is easy to work with either hand or machine tools; however, high resin contents may cause some downtime due to gumming of cutters and machine tables. Takes nails and screws well and glues satisfactorily.

Durability: Durability and resistance to insect attack varies with resin content, heartwood generally rated moderately durable. Sapwood prone to blue stain.

Preservation: Sapwood is highly permeable and is easily treated by open-tank or pressure-vacuum systems. Heartwood is rated as moderately resistant and depends on the resin content.

Uses: General light and heavy construction, carpentry, flooring, joinery, utility poles and railroad crossties (treated), boat building, vats, utility plywood, pulp and paper products.

Additional Reading: (1), (9), (46), (75)

M 150 282-3Logs are delivered to a sawmill in southern Nigeria. African mahogany

(mostly Khaya ivorensis) is in high demand on overseas markets. Export of logs fro

this region, as well as from most other tropical areas, is being restricted.

M 150 282-2Band mills in Ghana are designed to handle logs 5 feet and more in

diameter. Obeche or Wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) logs yield lumber favored for

joinery and millwork.

M 150 273-14In many areas of the tropics, fast-growing species are being introduced

future supplies of fuel wood and industrial wood. Batai (Albizia falcataria) is

a favored plantation species in the Philipines.

M 150 273-13 Shores spp. is still the major timber group harvested in Southeast

Asia. With modern chain saws, fellers no longer need scaffolding to get above larg

buttresses.

M 150 281 Felling of white lauan or almon (Shorea a;mon) with axes in the early

1900s in the Philippines. Most hardwood plywood now imported into the USA is

produced from species of Shorea.

[M 150 273-9Plywood mill in San Jose, Costa Rica, produces rotary-cut veneers mostly from banak (Virola spp.) and crabwood or cedro macho (Carapa guianensis). Logs trucked in from the Caribbean coast.]

M 150 273-21Mahot or Tauary (Couratari spp.) grows from Panama south to the Brazilian Amazon. Trunk diameters may exceed 4 feet above the stout buttresses. In tropical American moist forests, single species usually make up less than 5 percent of the stand volume.

M 150 273-18Trees in the tropics yield not only wood but a wide array of gums, oil

resins, tannins, edible fruits, medicinals, latex, fodder, and much more. The para

rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) at the end of its tapping life is used to produce

attractive wood suitable for furniture components.

M 150 272-14Some European markets still prefer hand hewn greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei

for heavy marine construction. Work is being done on a river landing in Guyana.

M 150 272-15 In the highlands of El Salvador, ocote pine (Pinus ococarpa) is cut in

boards by pit sawing. Finished lumber is sent down the mountainside on the backs o

unattended burros.