The
Tree: Purpleheart is
a very tall, handsome canopy tree, averaging 120 to 150 feet in height in the
natural rainforest, with diameters of 2 to 4 feet, and a clear, straight,
cylindrical bole of 60 to 90 feet, above a moderately buttressed base. Nazareno
is leguminous or nitrogen-fixing.
The
Wood: One of the
most distinctive woods in the world, purpleheart is prized for its very unusual
deep purple color. When freshly cut, this dense hardwood is light brown. Within
minutes the surface turns an astonishing bright purple. Upon prolonged exposure
to sunlight, the color gradually changes to a chocolate-purple color. This
beautiful wood is straight to wavy grained, fine and uniform textured and fairly
smooth with a medium to high luster. Purpleheart turns smoothly, is easy to
glue, takes finishes well and is highly durable.
Bocote:
The
Tree: Bocote is a
large canopy tree, with some specimens in the natural rainforest reaching up to
120 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter, with a straight cylindrical bole above a
narrow buttress.
The
Wood: Bocote is a
particularly fine, beautiful wood, with colors varying from light to golden
brown and variegated irregular markings. It has an attractive ray fleck figure
if quartersawn. Bocote is a strong lustrous wood, with medium and uniform
texture and straight or shallowly interlocked grain. It is easy to work,
responds well to both hand and machine tools, is easily glued, and takes nails
and screws well. It also polishes to a smooth finish, and stains and glues well.
Bocote's bending strength is comparable to teak, and compression strength is
comparable to mahogany. It is highly resistant to insects.
Cocobolo:
The
Tree: Cocobolo is a
mid-sized, sub-canopy tree, reaching 45 to 60 feet in height in the natural
rainforest, with trunk diameters up to 1-1/2 to 2 feet, usually of irregular
form. The poorly formed stems yield the most uniquely figured and highly-prized
wood. Cocobolo is leguminous, or nitrogen-fixing.
The
Wood: One of the
true tropical rosewoods, Cocobolo is a very beautiful wood, ranging from a
beautiful rich dark brick red, to reddish or dark brown, with a figuring of
darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. It is fine textured and oily
in look and feel. The wood has excellent working characteristics and the natural
oils give the wood a natural luster. Cocobolo is highly durable and strong, but,
because of its scarcity and high value, it is used for its rare beauty rather
than its strength or durability.
Goncalo Alves:
The
Tree: Goncalo alves
is a large canopy tree, sometimes reaching 120 feet in height in the natural
rainforest, with a trunk 3 feet in diameter. The tree has a clear, straight
cylindrical bole for two-thirds or more of its height, above a small buttress.
The
Wood: Goncalo alves
ranges in color from light to reddish brown to deep mahogany red-brown with a
striking figure created by beautiful, bold, brown to nearly black irregular
markings or striping. The texture is fine to medium and uniform, with a fine
grain, varying from straight to interlocked and wavy. In spite of its high
density, goncalo alves turns readily, carves well, finishes very smoothly, and
takes a beautiful natural polish. The wood is rated highly durable and has
strength values considerably higher than any well-known U.S. species.
Brazilian Cherry:
The
Tree: Brazilian
cherry is a large canopy tree, sometimes reaching a height of 150 feet in the
natural rainforest, with a cylindrical trunk up to 6 feet in diameter and a
clear bole of 60 to 80 feet. The tree has a smooth gray bark that exudes a gum
sometimes used for medicinal purposes. Brazilian cherry is leguminous, or
nitrogen-fixing.
The
Wood: Brazilian
cherry is a very beautiful reddish brown wood, with an interlocking grain and a
golden luster or glow beneath. It is a hard, heavy and very strong wood, having
a specific gravity .91. Brazilian cherry steam-bends well, and glues well,
although nailing may require pre-drilling.
Yellowheart:
Characteristics:
This exotic and imported hardwood is strong and hard. It’s heartwood is creamy
to brilliant yellow to golden tan. The boards are fine textured with a high
surface luster. The grain is straight. Yellow Heart is quite striking and
pleasing to the eye.
Tree is Native To:
Lower
Amazon region of Brazil.
Padauk:
Characteristics: Padauk is an
exotic and imported hardwood that comes in both in a strip or a mottled effect.
An eye catching wood, the color varies from a rich crimson or brick red, to
reddish-purple streaks, to bright-orange. It darkens over time to dark
reddish-brown. The interlocked grain produces the striped figure on quartered
surfaces. The texture is medium to coarse.
Tree is Native To:
The
Andaman Islands, a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal about 650 miles south
east of Calcutta.
African Blackwood:
Characteristics:
This exotic and imported hardwood is very dark in color. The wood is dark
purple-brown with black streaks which dominate, giving an almost black
appearance. The grain is straight, extremely fine, even textured and oily to
the touch. This wood is very hard, heavy, strong and dense.
Tree is
Native To:
Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and Senegal.
Pink Ivory:
Characteristics:
This exotic and imported hardwood has been called "rarer than diamonds." It is
one of the most rarest species of wood to obtain. This is due to the fact that
the trees are so scattered, exploitation would be too costly a process. The
wood is uniformly bright pink or pale red. The sapwood is almost white and the
pink heartwood, over time, becomes orange to orange-brown in color. The wood is
hard, heavy, strong and stiff with a low luster. The grain is straight to
irregular and the texture is very fine.
Tree is Native To:
Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and scattered throughout Southern Africa.
Kingwood:
Characteristics:
This exotic and imported hardwood is streaked with varying colors. It has
a background of rich violet-brown with shades, almost to black, sometimes
displaying golden yellow lines. Straight grained, fine textured and very
lustrous. A simply breathtaking wood!
Tree is Native To:
South America, mostly Brazil.
Wenge:
Characteristics: Wenge is an
exotic and imported hardwood that has heartwood that is dark brown with very
close, fine, almost black veins. The texture is coarse and the grain is straight
to slightly wavy.
Tree is Native To:
Southern regions of Tanzania, Mozambique and the Congo region
Bubinga:
Characteristics: This exotic
and imported hardwood is hard and heavy and has a moderately coarse, even
texture. Bubinga is durable and strong. The grain can be straight on interlocked
and irregular. The heartwood is red-brown, with red and purple veining. The
sapwood is pale white.
Tree is Native To:
Cameroon, Gabon and Zaire.
Bolivian Rosewood:
Characteristics: Bolivian
Rosewood is an exotic and imported hardwood that is strikingly beautiful. It is
sold as a substitute for Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) and it is very
difficult to tell the two apart. The wood has color variations from chocolate or
violet-brown to violet streaked with black, often streaked with golden-brown.
The grain is straight, sometimes wavy. The texture is medium to coarse and the
wood is oily to the touch. The machinery dust from this species can cause severe
skin irritation. Proper personal
protective equipment is advised!
Tree is
Native To: Bolivia and Brazil.
Canarywood:
Characteristics: This exotic
and imported hardwood has heartwood that is yellow and orange, sometimes with
rich red streaks that form a "rainbow-hue" across the board. Sapwood is
yellowish. The texture and luster varies, as does the grain, straight to
irregular. The wood has a distinctive odor when cut. Canary Wood is hard, heavy
and strong.
Tree is Native To:
Panama,
Ecuador and Southern Brazil.
Black Walnut:
Characteristics: Black Walnut
is a domestic hardwood. The heartwood is a rich purplish-brown shade to a
chocolate-brown tint. The narrow sapwood is nearly white. The texture is
moderately coarse but uniform. This wood is strong and stable.
Tree is Native To:
Black Walnut grows from Massachusetts to Southern Ontario and Nebraska,
throughout the eastern half of the United States.
Bloodwood:
Characteristics: This heartwood
of this exotic and imported hardwood has various shades of rich, lustrous
gray-red to deep red with golden luster and variegated yellow and red stripes.
The sapwood is yellowish-white and sharply demarcated from the heartwood.
Texture is fine to coarse and the grain is straight. Bloodwood is very hard,
strong and heavy.
Tree is Native To:
Bloodwood grows in French Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Panama and Venezuela.
Cedar
(Aromatice)
Characteristics: Aromatic
Cedar is a domestic hardwood. The heartwood is a reddish brown to dull brown to
purple. The sapwood is nearly white and it is narrow. The grain is generally
straight but has a coarse and uniformed texture. This lumber is light,
moderately soft, low in strength and the heartwood is very resistant to decay.
The wood is highly aromatic and often has many small knots.
Tree is Native To:
Grows in the Eastern half of North America from Maine, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, Southern Quebec and Ontario to Eastern Texas and Northern Florida.
Zebrawood:
Characteristics: This exotic and imported hardwood is pale golden brown
to pinkish-brown with pronounced dark brown streaks giving the quartered
surfaces a zebra-stripe appearance. The grain in interlocked. This wood has a
coarse texture and lustrous surface. Zebrawood is heavy, hard and strong.
Tree is
Native To: Africa
Spalted Maple:
Characteristics:
Spalting is a unique process which occurs as decaying logs are attacked by
fungi. Any wood is susceptible to spalting, but maple is the most commonly
known. The spalting process results in the characteristic "spalting lines,"
which look almost like the wood was drawn on with a pen. Spalted Maple has all
the same characteristics of the species that is used; in this case both hard and
soft maple.
