Malabar kino

Overview

Malabar kino (Pterocarpus marsupium) is a golden to reddish-brown Indian hardwood, best known in the timber trade under the ITTO name bijasal, with a medium to coarse texture and interlocked grain. It is a working timber in India for poles, tool handles and construction rather than a US furniture species. No Janka hardness was found for it, so none is given.

Pros

• Rated very durable by ITTO (durability index 2 on a 1-7 scale).
• Air-dry density 0.88 g/cm3 (ITTO), a solid medium-heavy wood.
• Sawing not difficult; machining gives a smooth surface, and nail and screw holding is excellent (ITTO).
• Takes a good and lasting polish after filling.
• Not CITES-listed; ITTO gives its status as unrestricted.

Cons

• Interlocked grain and medium to coarse texture; pores need filling for a polished finish.
• Heartwood is very refractory to preservative treatment (ITTO), though sapwood treats.
• Wikipedia notes it contains 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, which may cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation.
• Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (2017 assessment).
• Almost no US supply or published price.

Variants and subspecies

• Names: Wikipedia lists Malabar kino and Indian kino; ITTO's timber name is bijasal and its Indian common name is venga.
• African padauk and Burmese padauk are different Pterocarpus species; see Burmese padauk. They are not substitutes in colour: this is a golden-brown wood, not red-orange.

Working and finishing

ITTO reports that sawing is not difficult, that machining gives a smooth surface, and that nail and screw holding is excellent. It takes a good and lasting polish after filling. Total shrinkage is 6.1% tangential and 4.3% radial, a T/R ratio of 1.4 (ITTO) (ITTO). Dust may irritate; wear a mask.

Staining and finishing colour

Heartwood is golden brown, going reddish on exposure; ITTO's colour index puts it at 6 on a scale where 1 is black and 7 light yellow or white. Use a pore filler followed by polish, per ITTO. No source describes stain or dye behaviour, so test on offcuts.

Sustainability and handling

IUCN Red List: Near Threatened (2017 assessment, per Wikipedia; checked 2026-09). ITTO gives its CITES status as unrestricted, consistent with the CITES Appendices (text valid from 5 March 2026), where the Pterocarpus annotation #17 applies only to African populations and only P. santalinus is listed separately. The US Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3372) bars trade in plants taken in violation of foreign law, which matters for Indian-origin timber. EU deforestation rules cover wood and furniture from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators (EC, checked 2026-09). Wikipedia names an irritant compound in the wood, so use dust extraction.

Popular projects

ITTO lists bridges, poles, stakes, posts, rails, beams, frames, plywood and veneer, tool handles, truck bodies, boats and door cores.

Buying notes

Essentially a specialist import. No retail price turned up at the US yards checked, and the figure above is only an African padauk proxy. If you find it, ask for the botanical name Pterocarpus marsupium, and for the origin.