Name:
Brazilian Cherry / Jatoba
Flooring Trade Name:
Jatoba
Botanical Name:
Hymenaea courbaril
Lumber Name:
Cuapinol, Guapinol (Mexico), Guapinol (Central America), Locust, Kawanari (Guyana), Rode lokus (Surinam), Algarrobo (Spanish America), Jatahy, Jatoba (Brazil).
Grows In:
Southern Mexico, throughout Central America and the West Indies to northern Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. The tree\'s best development is on ridges or slopes and high riverbanks.
Color Range:
Heartwood is salmon red to orange brown when fresh, becoming russet to reddish brown when seasoned; often marked with dark streaks. Sapwood is usually wide; white, gray, or pinkish. Texture is medium to rather coarse; grain mostly interlocked; golden luster; without distinctive odor or taste.
Color Change:
Dramatic. Darkens quickly
Hardness:
Brazilian Cherry has a Janka hardness rating of 2820 compared to 1260 for Red Oak.
Stability:
fair
Working Properties: The wood is moderately difficult to saw and machine largely because of its high density, but except in planing it can be machined to a smooth surface. The wood is somewhat difficult to plane because of the interlocked grain. It is easy to glue and finish satisfactorily; steam-bending properties comparable to white oak.
Durability: Laboratory evaluations rate the wood very resistant to brown-rot and white-rot fungi; actual field exposure trials also rate the wood as very durable. Heartwood is also rated very resistant to dry-wood termites; little resistance to marine borers.
Preservation: Heartwood is not treatable using open-tank or pressure-vacuum systems. Sapwood, however, is responsive.
Uses: Tool handles and other applications where good shock resistance is needed, steam-bent parts, flooring, turnery, furniture and cabinet work, railroad crossties tree-nails, gear cogs, wheel rims, and other specialty items. Tree exudes a rosin-like gum known commercially as South American copal. Seed pods contain an edible pulp
Login
Signup
My Account
View Larger
