MOLAVE TREE

Vitex parviflora is a species of plant in the

Verbenaceae family, also known as smallflower chastetree
or the molave tree. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and
the Philippines. It is threatened by habitat loss. The name
"molave" is from Spanish, derived from Tagalog mulawin.
It is also known as tugas in Visayan languages.
It yields one of two woods from the same genus
called molave wood, the other being Vitex cofassus. It is
valued in the Philippines for its dense durable wood, and
was once used extensively in furniture, boats, utensils,
and as construction material. However, due to
overharvesting and habitat loss, it is now classified as
endangered by the Philippine Department of Environment
and Natural Resources.
MOLAVE TREE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Botanical Name: Vitex parviflora

Other Common Names: Bitum, Gupasa, Kulim papa, Leban, Milla, Molave, Teen nok
Common Uses: Shipbuilding, Railroad ties, Poultry coops, Carvings, Flooring,
Windows, Balusters, Framing, Furniture , Brooders, Building
materials, Chairs, Chests, Clogs, Concealed parts (Furniture),
Crossties, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring,
Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Factory flooring, Fine
furniture, Floor lamps, Furniture components, Furniture squares
or stock, Hatracks, Kitchen cabinets, Living-room suites, Office
furniture, Parquet flooring, Radio, stereo, TV cabinets, Rustic
furniture, Stools, Sub-flooring, Tables , Utility furniture,
Wardrobes, Woodwork
Region: Oceania and S.E. Asia
Country: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Thailand

NUMERICAL VALUES

CATEGORY GREEN DRY UNIT

Bending Strength 13234 17352 psi
Crushing Strength (Perp.) 1863 2233 psi
Max. Crushing Strength 6905 9444 psi
Static Bending (FSPL) 8391 10895 psi
Impact Strength 21 inches
Stiffness 1480 2005 1000 psi
Shearing Strength 1892 psi
Toughness 440 in-lbs
Specific Gravity 0.65 0.72
Weight 50 lbs/cu.ft.
Density (Air-dry) 50 lbs/cu.ft.
Radial Shrinkage (G->OD) 5 %
Tangential Shrink. (G->OD 7 %

PLATE NO.
TITLE : MOLAVE (Vitex parviflora)

1
NAME : CHARLES JADE M. BESABELLA COURSE & YEAR : BSCE - V

INSTRUCTOR : Engr. CYMA ADORACION A. NATIVIDAD

SUBJECT CODE : CE 513 – TIMBER DESIGN DATE SUBMITTED : JUNE 20, 2019
 TREE AND WOOD DESCRIPTION

Sapwood Color The narrow sapwood is lighter in color and is not clearly
differentiated from the heartwood.
Heartwood Color The heartwood is light straw or light yellowish brown,
sometimes with a greenish tinge. Lime water or other
alkalis are reported to turn the wood bright greenish
yellow and wood chips are reported to impart a yellowish
to greenish yellow color to water.
Grain Grain is straight, but may be slightly crossed or wavy.
Texture Texture is described as dense, fine, and very smooth
under sharp tools.
Luster Wood surfaces vary from dull to somewhat lustrous.
Odor There is no distinct odor or taste.
Movement in Service Movement after manufacture is rated as small to medium.
Natural Durability The heartwood is reported to have high natural durability
against decay, but is susceptible to marine borers.
Strength Properties The species has very high bending strength, and is much
stronger than Teak in the air-dry condition (about 12
percent moisture content). It has superior properties in
compression parallel to grain in the air-dry condition than
Teak, White oak, or Hard maple. The wood is very heavy.
The wood is high in density.

WORKING PROPERTIES

Cutting Resistance Cutting resistance is reported to be low, and the timber is

reported to saw with very little difficulty.
Planing The timber is reported to be easy to work, relative to its
hardness. It responds rather readily to hand and machine
tools to yield smooth surfaces in planing and most
operations.
Turning Turning operations are reported to be easy.
Moulding The material is reported to respond well to ordinary
machine tools in most operations.
Boring Boring operations are reported to be rather easy with
machine tools.
Routing & Recessing The wood is reported to respond well to routing
operations.
Mortising The timber is reported respond readily to machine tools to
yield good results in mortising.
Carving Carving characteristics are reported to be relatively good.
Response to Hand Tools Response to hand tools is reported to be generally good.

PLATE NO.
TITLE : MOLAVE (Vitex parviflora)

1
NAME : CHARLES JADE M. BESABELLA COURSE & YEAR : BSCE - V

INSTRUCTOR : Engr. CYMA ADORACION A. NATIVIDAD

SUBJECT CODE : CE 513 – TIMBER DESIGN DATE SUBMITTED : JUNE 20, 2019
 DRYING

Ease of Drying The wood is reported to dry rather easily, with little
degrade.
Drying Defects Some fine surface checking may develop.
T/R Ratio 1.44

WORKING STRESSES FOR MOLAVE WOOD

80% STRESS GRADE
BENDING & MODULUS OF COMPRESSION COMPRESSION SHEAR
TENSION ELASTICITY IN PARALLEL TO PERPENDICULAR PARALLEL TO
PARALLEL TO BENDING GRAIN TO GRAIN GRAIN
GRAIN
(E) (P)
(MPa) (GPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
(1 X 106) (1 X 109)
23.1 8.6 16.3 7.3 1.8

SOURCES
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitex_parviflora
 https://www.woodworkerssource.com/wood_library_show.php?wood=Vitex%2520parviflora

PLATE NO.
TITLE : MOLAVE (Vitex parviflora)

1
NAME : CHARLES JADE M. BESABELLA COURSE & YEAR : BSCE - V

INSTRUCTOR : Engr. CYMA ADORACION A. NATIVIDAD

SUBJECT CODE : CE 513 – TIMBER DESIGN DATE SUBMITTED : JUNE 20, 2019