South Indian Timbers

Plants especially trees are the companion of man since his appearance on this planet.Glancing through the history of civilisation one find that forests were closely related to the life of man. The collection and production of woodlands was in practice during the fourth century BC., about 10,000 years ago. The 'Wood', play a significant role in strengthening the economy of a nation. 'Wood' is made up of a special type of cell called 'Fibre Cell'. These cells contain a white substance called, 'Cellulose' which appears brown after lignin coating. The fibre cells only make a timber heavier and stronger. The forest trees which yield wood are broadly categorised as 'hardwoods' and 'softwoods'. The majority of Indian forest trees like sal, teak, shisham, eucalyptus etc, are among the hardwoods whereas the needle - leaf trees like conifers, deodar, pine constitute the softwood group.