The bark and leaves of the ipil are used in traditional medicines. The tree's timber, called merbau or kwila, is a very durable and termite-resistant wood, making it a highly valued material for flooring and other uses.The wood can also be used to extract a dye. Merbau can contain a gold fleck that runs through the grain, considered to be attractive by some.ntsia bijuga is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, native to the Indo-Pacific. It ranges from Tanzania and Madagascar east through India and Queensland, Australia to the Pacific island of Samoa.