''Burretiodendron hsienmu'' is a species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

in the angiosperm family

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

. It is found in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Description

The wood taken from a ''Burretiodendron hsienmu'' tree is very hard, tough and durable. It has grain and would not suffer from

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

infestation if buried in the ground for a long period of time. Because of its great properties, ethnic minorities on the high rocky area (mainly the

Tay people Tay or TAY may refer to: People and languages * Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname * Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam ** Tày language * Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Tai ...

and

Nung people Nung may refer to: * Nùng people, a Tai-speaking ethnic group of Vietnam and China * Chinese Nùng, a group of ethnic Chinese of Vietnam * Nùng language (Tai), a Kra-Dai language of Vietnam, China and Laos * Nung language (Sino-Tibetan), a Sino-T ...

) use the wood to make the columns, floors, etc. of the

stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

. The boards are so flexible that walking on them does not produce the slightest noise. Another popular item to make from ''Burretiodendron hsienmu'' wood are cutting boards. The downside of furniture made from this species' wood is that the influence of moisture and water can easily bend, wrap or even break thin boards. The duramen has a uniform dark brown with fine, but easily distinguishable grains and delicate flower pattern on the surface of the steel as the Japanese sword when shaved (not all trees have this property). Rain water can only fade the outermost layer of the wood. The sapwood is lighter in color, softer and weighs less than the heartwood. It is prized as a material to make the altar, furniture, etc.

References

hsienmu Trees of China Trees of Vietnam Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Malvaceae-stub