Miniritchie is a small shrub-like tree up to 4 m tall with twisted stems and reddish brown bark that peels continuously in small curly flakes. It is found mainly on hardpans or rocky slopes with shallow soils, in the Pilbara Gascoyne and Murchison regions.

Wood description [more info]
Heartwood is dark brown with lighter golden streaks, with sapwood a contrasting yellow band. The wood is very hard and close-textured.

Wood density [more info]
Green density is about 1275 kg/m3, air-dry density about 1230 kg/m3, and basic density about 1050 kg/m3.

Shrinkage [more info]
Tangential and radial shrinkage are about 2.9 and 1.9 per cent respectively.

Workability [more info]
Goldfields craftsmen rank miniritchie as average for machinability, good for boring, screwholding, sanding and finishing, and excellent for turning.

Durability [more info]
The wood is very durable, and presumably CSIRO Durability Class 1.

Strength group and properties [more info]
Green and dry strength groups are (S1) and (SD1). The brackets indicate conservative provisional ratings based on the air-dry density. The more important strength properties based on strength group are given in the table below.

Uses [more info]
The timber has considerable potential for craftwork. The leaves are palatable to stock.

Availability [more info]
Limited availability because of the scattered nature of the resource.