About Ceratopetalum apetalum D.Don
Ceratopetalum apetalum, commonly known as coachwood, usually reaches 25 metres in height with a trunk diameter of 90 cm (35 in). Exceptional individual specimens can grow up to 40 metres tall and live for hundreds of years. Its trunk bears distinctive horizontal marks or scars that often encircle the entire stem. Larger coachwood trees develop short buttresses. The species' heartwood is attractive, with a colour that ranges from pale pink to pinkish-brown. Its sapwood is not always clearly distinguishable from the heartwood. Coachwood wood has a straight, finely textured, even grain, and it is often highly figured on its tangential face. The wood also has a distinctive caramel scent. Coachwood timber is lightweight and easy to work with. It is used for flooring, furniture, cabinetwork, interior fittings, turnery, gun stocks, wood carving, veneers, and boat spars and masts. Courtroom number three of the High Court of Australia is entirely furnished with coachwood timber.
