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Blunting Effect
Boring
Carving
Common Names
Common Uses
Countries of Distribution
Cutting Resistance
Distribution Overview
Drying Defects
Ease of Drying
Environmental Profile
Family Name
Grain
Heartwood Color
Kiln Schedules
Luster
Mortising
Moulding
Movement in Service
Nailing
Natural Durability
Numerical Data
Odor
Planing
Polishing
References
Regions of Distribution
Resistance to Impregnation
Response to Hand Tools
Routing & Recessing
Sanding
Sapwood Color
Scientific Name
Screwing
Silica Content
Staining
Strength Properties
Texture
Trade Name
Tree Size
Turning
Veneering Qualities
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Common Names
Angelica tree, Banco, Bois negresse, Galipee, Lengua de vaca, Mano de leon, Mano de oso, Mano do oso, Maria molle, Nagua blanca, Nagua blanco, Pa, Palo de burro, Palo de danta, Palo santo, Pama, Pama banco, Pollo, Quesito, Vaquero
Regions of Distribution
Central America, Latin America, Oceania and S.E. Asia
Countries of Distribution
[VIEW MAP]
Bahamas, Bolivia, Colombia, Columbia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico [US], Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
Common Uses
Boxes and crates, Building materials, Ceiling, Furniture, General carpentry, Interior construction, Interior trim, Light construction, Millwork, Moldings, Packing cases, Paneling , Particleboard, Plywood, Stair rails, Stairworks, Trimming, Veneer
Environmental Profile
| Widespread |
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| Rare in parts of its natural range (population is at risk) |
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Source - The Nature Conservancy - Rank of relative endangerment based mainly on the number of occurrences of the species worldwide
Distribution Overview
Common and widespread in tropical America, West Indies, Mexico, and southward to Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia. Frequently used for shade in coffee plantations.
Heartwood Color
| Brown |
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| Purple |
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| Red |
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| Pink |
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| White to cream |
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| Yellow to golden-yellow to orange |
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| Greenish to greyish |
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Sapwood Color
| Yellow |
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| White |
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| White to yellow |
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| Same as heartwood |
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Grain
Texture
| Even or uniform |
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| Uniform |
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| Medium |
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| Coarse |
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| Medium |
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Luster
| Slightly lustrous |
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| Medium |
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| Lustrous |
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Natural Durability
| Durable |
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| The heartwood is susceptible to wood staining fungal attack |
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The wood is very susceptible to attack by decay fungi and insects, and is also prone to blue stains
Odor
| Has an odor |
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| No specific smell or taste |
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Silica Content
Kiln Schedules
Drying Defects
The wood air-dries rapidly with very little degrade in the form of checking and warping
Ease of Drying
| Slowly |
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| Fairly Easy |
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| Medium to High Shrinkage |
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| Easy |
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Tree Size
Cultivated as a shade trees on coffee plantations
Blunting Effect
| High to severe |
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| Blunting effect on machining is slight |
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Boring
| Fairly difficult to very difficult |
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| Good (75+ pieces out of 100 will yield good to excellent results) |
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Carving
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult |
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| Very good results |
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Cutting Resistance
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw |
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| Gum-Up |
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| Easy to saw |
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Mortising
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult |
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| Easy to mortise |
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Moulding
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult |
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| Good response to moulding |
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Movement in Service
| Fair to Good Stability - Medium Movement |
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Nailing
| Satisfactory nailing properties |
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Planing
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult |
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| Planed surfaces are often fuzzy |
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Resistance to Impregnation
| Permeable sapwood |
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| Resistant heartwood |
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| Resistant sapwood |
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| Heartwood is permeable |
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| Sapwood is permeable |
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| Sapwood is permeable |
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Response to Hand Tools
Routing & Recessing
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult |
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| Good in both routing and recessing. |
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Sanding
Screwing
| Good screw holding properties |
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Turning
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult |
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| Poor results |
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Veneering Qualities
Polishing
Staining
Strength Properties
| Shrinkage, Tangential = fairly large |
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| Shrinkage, Radial = fairly large |
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| Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = low |
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| Shrinkage, Tangential = very small |
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| Shrinkage, Tangential = small |
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| Shrinkage, Tangential = moderate |
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| Shrinkage, Radial = very small |
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| Shrinkage, Radial = small |
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| Shrinkage, Radial = moderate |
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| Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = very low |
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| Max. crushing strength = low |
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| Hardness (side grain) = soft |
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| Density (dry weight) = 31-37 lbs/cu. ft. |
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| Bending strength (MOR) = low |
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| Bending strength (MOR) = high |
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Numerical Data
| Item | Green | Dry | English |
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| Bending Strength | 9843 | 12992 | psi |
| Density | | 32 | lbs/ft3 |
| Hardness | | 821 | lbs |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 2139 | 3916 | psi |
| Stiffness | 1245 | 1557 | 1000 psi |
| Specific Gravity | 0.36 | | |
| Weight | 31 | 25 | lbs/ft3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | 4 | | % |
| Tangential Shrinkage | 7 | | % |
| Volumetric Shrinkage | 14 | | % |
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| Item | Green | Dry | Metric |
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| Bending Strength | 692 | 913 | kg/cm2 |
| Density | | 512 | kg/m3 |
| Hardness | | 372 | kg |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 150 | 275 | kg/cm2 |
| Stiffness | 87 | 109 | 1000 kg/cm2 |
| Specific Gravity | 0.36 | | |
| Weight | 496 | 400 | kg/m3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | 4 | | % |
| Tangential Shrinkage | 7 | | % |
References
Andy Poynter. 1993. Personal Communication
Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison.
Little, E.L., Wadsworth, F.H.,1964,Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook,No.249
Takahashi, A.,1975,Compilation of data on the Mechanical Properties of Foreign Woods (Part 2,Central and South America,Shimane University, Japan, Research Report on Foreign Wood No.4
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