During a trip to the Philippines in November, I tried to find an old schoolmate I hadn't contacted since high school. I was told his family had moved, and that he now owned a furniture shop. As I had promised a mutual friend that I would find him, I looked for him where I was told he had moved, along a country road lined by gmelina trees. I did not find him, but I did learn something.
a 10-year-old tree. Gmelina can be harvested six to 10 years after planting.
The road had five furniture shops making beds and cabinets to order, and they were all using only wood from the gmelina tree, also known as yemane, Malay beechwood, or white teak. Unlike teak (Tectona grandis), which must be at least 50 years old before its timber can be harvested, gmelina can bring returns six to 10 years after planting. The wood that the furniture-makers were using came from trees that were only about eight to 10 years old.
Gmelina consists of about 33 species of trees and shrubs, the best known of which is Gmelina arborea. A deciduous tree with a remarkable growth rate, it is widely planted as an ornamental shade tree along roads and as a plantation tree in the Philippines. Grown in favourable conditions, it takes only three years to reach a height of six to eight metres, with a diameter of 10cm-15cm. Plantation trees are usually felled young _ six years after planting for pulpwood purposes, and 10 years for sawn wood _ but in one of the furniture shops I saw a piece about 90cm wide. I was told it came from a 20-year-old tree.
a deciduous tree that grows remarkably fast, gmelina is a common sight as a shade tree along country roads in the Philippines.
A lightweight hardwood, gmelina produces good quality pulp for the production of writing paper and carton board. Sawn wood is mainly for building purposes and boat-building, packaging and woodcarving, making musical instruments, particle board and decorative veneers. Gmelina wood is cream to yellowish brown in colour but turns reddish brown with age and has a silky lustre.
''Each piece of wood has beautiful marks which will be made even more prominent after the furniture is burnished,'' Beatrice Garcia said, pointing at a cabinet her husband, Rafael, had just made. Both the cabinet and a queen-size bed, which was also just finished, showed fine craftsmanship.
''He has been making furniture for nearly 20 years,'' Beatrice said. ''My grandfather and father were furniture-makers and he learned from them. However, of our four sons only one is interested in carrying on the trade.''
The Garcias have two hectares of land planted with gmelina, and when he is not making furniture, Rafael tends his trees. ''Three more years, and the trees will be big enough to be made into furniture,'' said Beatrice, whose house is also surrounded by towering, if thin, gmelina, probably because they are planted so close together they do not get enough sun.
Gmelina can be grown in any type of soil but thrives in well-drained soil with an ample supply of nutrients, and in full sun. As a fast-growing plantation tree, it holds promise as a source of comparatively cheap timber and extra income for farmers. Resourceful Thais can even use its tender, heart-shaped leaves as a substitute for mulberry in silkworm culture, and nectar from its flowers in the production of high-quality honey.
gmelina leaves are tender and can be used as a substitute for mulberry in silkworm culture.
Gmelina is widely planted in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as in India and tropical Africa, with Brazil having the largest single plantation at Jardilandia in the Amazon Basin. It does not seem to have caught on in Thailand, however. Why?
Researchers of the Forest Department found that the tree is susceptible to infestation by stem borers, hence planting it as a monoculture in plantations is risky. On our farm we have two gmelina trees, which we use to provide shade for our newly propagated plants, and I have observed how the leaves are eaten by insects some months of the year. But once the larvae have grown and left, the leaves grow back again and the trees are as beautiful and shady as ever.
According to Timber Trees: Major Commercial Timbers, published by Plant Resources of Southeast Asia, the problem with gmelina is that it performs differently in different soil types. Plantations in some countries are more susceptible to fungal infections, or to attack by stem-boring beetles, than in other places. Leaf beetles have attacked plantations in India and the Philippines, and termites that damage the heartwood near the ground have been observed in peninsular Malaysia, but do not cause any serious problems in other regions.
Yet the potential of gmelina as a cash crop and as a source of timber to ease the pressure on our natural forests is too great to be ignored. Hopefully, Thai growers will find a way to improve the species and make it less prone to pest attacks.
Email nthongtham@gmail.com.
a cabinet and a bed made of gmelina wood. Each piece has unique marks that add to the beauty of the furniture.
SAWED OFF: A board from a 20-year-old gmelina tree.
