Rubberwood is generally the wood harvested and processed from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). A type of hardwood with a slight yellowish appearance with open grain texture, rubberwood are previously used in small scale but the porpularity has increased overtime as it provide various advantages in term of cost effectiveness, eco-friendly and the availability.
An excellent candidate for furniture making, it will ceased from absorbing moisture after it had been kiln dried. Nowadays, rubberwoods are much lighter in color, relatively straight grain with some cross grain near the branches. With good staining properties, rubberwood can be stained in any desirable colour dye. Furthermore, there were also rare findings on a specific type in which possessed dark or grey streaks.
It's only weakness lies in the lack of beautiful patterns as much compared to other wood type.
Rubberwood can be extensively found in South East Asia, owing to the previous booming plantation process to cater for market need for rubber latex. It may be marketed in more attractive-sounding names, such as "Malaysian Oak" or "White Mahogany".
Pioneered by Kingsley Tisseverasinghe of Sri Lanka, the tree was only used for tapping/ harvesting of the tree's sap (latex). Eventually, the usage is being revolutionized by the introduction of a feasible treatment process for the wood of the rubber tree.