Spotted gum is one of Australia’s premium native hardwoods with a striking appearance and a high degree of natural durability and strength, making it an ideal timber for a variety of structural, exterior and interior applications.

Location

The timber is common in New South Wales and southern Queensland.

Size

Spotted gum grows well on favourable sites, usually attaining 35-45m in height and 1-1.3m diameter at breast height

Wood appearance

Heartwood is light brown to dark brown, and sapwood is pale and up to 8cm wide. The texture is moderately coarse, with an interlocked grain and the frequent presence of wavy grain produces an attractive fiddle back grain. The wood is slightly greasy and gum veins are common.

Wood density

Green density is about 1159kg/m³, the air-dry density about 970kg/m³ and basic density about 790kg/m³.

Use

The uses are as heavy engineering construction and mining timber, where shock resistance is important, house framing, flooring, tool handles, piles and poles, shipbuilding, agricultural machinery and plywood.