Lyptus is the
trade name
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
of a
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
made from a hybrid of two species of
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
tree, ''
Eucalyptus grandis
''Eucalyptus grandis'', commonly known as the flooded gum or rose gum, is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown. At maturity, it reaches tall, though the largest specimens can exceed tall. It is f ...
'' and ''
Eucalyptus urophylla
''Eucalyptus urophylla'', commonly known as Timor white gum, Timor mountain gum, popo or ampupu, is a species of eucalypt native to islands of the Indonesian Archipelago and Timor.
It is also common in other countries with humid and subhumid tr ...
''. Developed for quick harvesting, and grown on plantations in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Lyptus is marketed as an environmentally friendly alternative to
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...
,
mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
, and other wood products that may be harvested from old growth forests. Lyptus trees can be harvested for lumber in approximately 15 years, much sooner than woods from cooler climates.
Lyptus is grown in plantations operated by
Fibria
Fibria Celulose was a Brazilian pulp and paper company, created by a merger between Aracruz Celulose and Votorantim Celulose e Papel. The company has a production capacity exceeding six million tons of pulp and paper produced in seven factories di ...
, a company resulting from the merger of
Aracruz Celulose
Aracruz Celulose S.A. was a Brazilian manufacturer of pulp and paper. In 2009 it merged with VCP and was renamed Fibria. The new company maintained its headquarters in Sao Paulo, and is a supplier of bleached eucalyptus pulp. Its current presid ...
S.A. and
Votorantim Celulose e Papel
Fibria Celulose was a Brazilian pulp and paper company, created by a merger between Aracruz Celulose and Votorantim Celulose e Papel. The company has a production capacity exceeding six million tons of pulp and paper produced in seven factories di ...
. Lyptus is distributed in North America by
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser () is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company also manufactures wood products. It operates as a real e ...
. Fibria forests total 1.3 million hectares, of which 461,000 hectares are native reserves dedicated to environmental protection, in six Brazilian States: Espírito Santo, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul.
Properties
Lyptus has mechanical properties similar to many hardwoods, and is most often compared to
maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
. It is a closed-grain wood, and is harder than oak. The high hardness and closed grain structure make it popular for cabinetry,
millwork
Millwork is historically any Sawmill, wood mill produced decorative materials used in Construction#Building construction, building construction. Stock profiled and patterned millwork building components fabricated by Milling (machining), millin ...
and flooring. The coloration varies from a light salmon to a deeper red. With exposure to
UV light
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...
, the pigments darken slightly.
Workability
Lyptus is largely marketed as a viable alternative to
mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
. The density and closed, uniform grain structure of Lyptus lends well to both milling and machining. It doesn't produce the "fuzzy" raised grain when sawed that mahogany frequently does, and unlike maple, it doesn't have spots of knurled grain that would make it prone to tearout.
Benefits
As a plantation grown wood, use of Lyptus does not deplete
old growth forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
s, which are regarded as valuable havens for biodiversity. Lyptus's fast growth rate ensures that supply stays high, and keeps costs low. The plantation environment also allows for precise control of soil chemistry, tree spacing, and other factors affecting growth, resulting in the highest quantity of quality wood from the smallest space.
Criticism
Aracruz has been criticized in the past for poor relations with indigenous peoples, by strongly supporting legal measures that would give Aracruz land previously designated for indigenous tribes.
Aracruz has refused to certify their process with the
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-ba ...
and related forestry certification programs. Aracruz claims that they do not certify with current programs because they are too limiting, and do not represent realistic practices. However, others feel that their lack of certification is a sign that they are engaging in processes that may not be environmentally friendly.
Fibria closed the Lyptus sawmill in October 2017.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Aracruz Lyptus HomepageWeyerhaeuser Lyptus Homepage
Wood