open main page for all woods          open page 2 for articles



QUEENSLAND MAPLE

Flindersia spp.
Flindersia spp. of the family Rutaceae. This is primarily Flindersia brayleyana but also includes Flindersia australis, Flindersia pimenteliana, and Flindersia pubescens. The most used common name is Queensland maple, but you will also see Queensland silkwood, maple silkwood, Australian maple and others.

As with many Australian common names for wood, use of a name that was familiar to the early settlers (in this case "maple") has absolutely nothing to do with the botanical provenence of the species. It is completely unrelated to maples and is in fact more closely related to the orange tree. Use of the "maple" designation likely occurred because the curly versions of the wood have an appearance very similar to curly maple in grain (although generally not in color). It is a beautiful wood and is a staple of the Queensland (Australia) economy.

When I started this page, I was not aware that species other than Flindersia brayleyana were considered Queensland maple, so I did not make notes of which images included a specification of Flindersia brayleyana. MOST of the images on this page, unless otherwise stated, were listed as Queensland maple / Flindersia brayleyana

my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K) colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a sample plank of queensland maple / Flindersia brayleyana --- HUGE enlargements are present.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Queensland maple / Flindersia pimenteliana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Queensland maple / Flindersia pimenteliana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of crow's ash (aka Queensland maple) / Flindersia australis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


Queensland maple veneer --- HUGE enlargements are present. These samples were contributed to the site by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

web pics:

It should be noted that the majority of the pics on this page were lifted, with permission, from a site and from wood forum postings, all done by an Australian sawyer whom I know only as MapleMan. I thank MapleMan for this and other contributions to the site.


fairly rare --- planks that have little or no curl; I'm not even sure these ARE Queensland maple, but that's how they were listed, so here they are


plank listed as silkwood maple / Flindersia pimenteliana, also with no curl


quartersawn planks


figured planks


figured plank listed as Queensland maple / Flindersia brayleyana. I doubt if the actual color is this intense.


fiddleback silkwood (another name for Queensland maple)


planks that are all figured but none of which were actually LISTED as figured ... I think it is often taken as a given that Queensland maple is ALWAYS figured, although I do see a few pieces from time to time that are either not figured or only partically figured.


planks listed as maple silkwood


bookmatched figured planks (also not listed as figured)


slabs


slabs listeded a Queensland silkwood


these were all listed as figured slabs but note that the figure on most of these is localized and does not occur throughout the entire surface


slab listed as high figure


crotch listed as maple silkwood


bird's eye planks; the first two were moistened for the pic. NOTE I find it very odd that this species has a "bird's eye" figure that is even similar to that found in North American maple, since this speices is totally unrelated botanically even though it has the word "maple" in its name, and it grows on another continent. I'm not a big believer in coincidence, but apparently this IS one, sort of. I say "sort of" because I'm pretty sure the cause of this birdseye figure is not the same as that in the North American maples.


box listed as silkwood maple


top and bottom of a shallow bowl listed as fiddleback (but I don't see it as fiddleback at all, although it DOES have some nice tight curl in places)


shakers --- the first set was listed as Queensland maple and the second was listed as Queensland silkwood but I am completely convinced that, despite the difference in color and the switching of the two shakers, these are both pics of the same two shakers. Very strange.


two vases, a bowl, and two platters


table top of birdseye Queensland maple