Woods and Materials :: Cooktown Ironwood

Cooktown Ironwood (Erythrophleum Chlorostachys)

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This wood has a density of [around] 1,220 kg/m3 which is slightly more dense than African Blackwood at 1,200 kg/m3. It is found in Far North Queensland Australia in an area known as Cape York Peninsula. It has a range of coloring, but tends to darken to a dark red as the wood oxidizes. It grows in the "dry country" and even when green have very low moisture content making it extremely stable.

It has a bright red heartwood and a medium even texture with interlocking grain making it extremely stable and durable. Used as bush medicine by the Aboriginal people, Ironwood bark was used in infusions to treat spear wounds and its leaves boiled to treat headaches.