The Bakain tree is native to the lower Himalayas including Pakistan Punjaband Nepal. In Pakistan it has been it is extensively planted in the plains of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The heart wood is distinct from sapwood. The sapwood is yellowish-white while heart wood appeared reddish-brown. The wood is lustrous, odorless, tasteless, light weight, straight-grained with coarse and uneven texture.

The wood of Bakain is ring porous i.e. vessels are of two sorts. The Growth rings are conspicuous delimited by a zone of large spring wood and are very variable in width 0.97/cm. The earlywood vessels occur solitary or paired radially or contiguous in tangential plan, larger in size (94.5-304.5µ) in diameter and 7-15 /mm2 in number. The latewood vessels occur in groups forming flame like irregular oblique patches along with longitudinal parenchyma, smaller in size (63-241.5µ) wide and are 3-15/mm2 in numbers. Tyloses are absent, reddish-brown gummy deposits are abundant and occluding the vessels. The parenchyma is present in paratracheal and metatracheal form. The paratracheal parenchyma is abundant encircling the vessel groups forming flame-like irregular oblique patches extending across the rays. The metatracheal parenchyma form a broad belt in the beginning of the growth ring or found in scattered form. The wood rays are broad, visible with the naked eye on the cross surface and are homogenous , (9-16/ mm2) in tangential section and (3-4/mm) in cross section. The largest rays are 458.6µ(43 cells) (582µ;32 cells) and 92.87µ (6cells) (67µ;7 cells) wide. The fibers of Bakain wood are non- libriform, non-septate and arranged in radial rows; 0.70-1.24 mm long, 13.95-29.29µ in diameter with 1.71-4.29µ wall-thickness.

Cross view of Bakain wood Tangential view of Bakain wood Wood Fibre of Bakain

The wood of Bakain is used for making furniture, cabinet work, agricultural implements, boxes and packing crates, sports equipment like tennis and badminton racquets, veneer and decorative plywood. Round ballies are used for rough roofing.

1. Pearson, R.S and H.P. Brown.1932. Commercial Timbers of India.pp239-441.
2. Sheikh, M.I.1993. Trees of Pakistan. Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar.pp-82.
3. Siddiqui, K.M., M. Ayaz and I. Mahmood.1996. Properties and Uses of Pakistani Timbers. Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar.pp 45-46. .