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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

Scientific Name
Dendropanax arboreus

Trade Name
Angelica tree

Family Name
Araliaceae

Wood Image 1

Wood Image 1

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
Rare in parts of its natural range (population is at risk)

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
Purple
Red
Pink
White to cream
Yellow to golden-yellow to orange
Greenish to greyish


Sapwood Color
Yellow
White
White to yellow
Same as heartwood


Grain
Even
Straight

Straight


Texture
Even or uniform
Uniform
Medium
Coarse
Medium


Luster
Slightly lustrous
Medium
Lustrous


Natural Durability
Durable
The heartwood is susceptible to wood staining fungal attack

The wood is very susceptible to attack by decay fungi and insects, and is also prone to blue stains

Odor
Has an odor
No specific smell or taste


Silica Content
Siliceous


Kiln Schedules
Drying (speed) is fast


Drying Defects
Splitting
Distortion


The wood air-dries rapidly with very little degrade in the form of checking and warping

Ease of Drying
Slowly
Fairly Easy
Medium to High Shrinkage
Easy


Tree Size
Tree height is 30-40 m


Cultivated as a shade trees on coffee plantations

Blunting Effect
High to severe
Blunting effect on machining is slight


Boring
Fairly difficult to very difficult
Good (75+ pieces out of 100 will yield good to excellent results)


Carving
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Very good results


Cutting Resistance
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw
Gum-Up
Easy to saw


Mortising
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Easy to mortise


Moulding
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Good response to moulding


Movement in Service
Fair to Good Stability - Medium Movement


Nailing
Satisfactory nailing properties


Planing
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Planed surfaces are often fuzzy


Resistance to Impregnation
Permeable sapwood
Resistant heartwood
Resistant sapwood
Heartwood is permeable
Sapwood is permeable
Sapwood is permeable


Response to Hand Tools
Easy to machine


Routing & Recessing
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Good in both routing and recessing.


Sanding
Easy to sand


Screwing
Good screw holding properties


Turning
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Poor results


Veneering Qualities
Easy to cut


Polishing
Fair to Good Results


Staining
Stains very well


Strength Properties
Shrinkage, Tangential = fairly large
Shrinkage, Radial = fairly large
Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = low
Shrinkage, Tangential = very small
Shrinkage, Tangential = small
Shrinkage, Tangential = moderate
Shrinkage, Radial = very small
Shrinkage, Radial = small
Shrinkage, Radial = moderate
Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = very low
Max. crushing strength = low
Hardness (side grain) = soft
Density (dry weight) = 31-37 lbs/cu. ft.
Bending strength (MOR) = low
Bending strength (MOR) = high


Numerical Data
ItemGreenDryEnglish
Bending Strength984312992psi
Density32lbs/ft3
Hardness821lbs
Maximum Crushing Strength21393916psi
Stiffness124515571000 psi
Specific Gravity0.36
Weight3125lbs/ft3
Radial Shrinkage4%
Tangential Shrinkage7%
Volumetric Shrinkage14%
ItemGreenDryMetric
Bending Strength692913kg/cm2
Density512kg/m3
Hardness372kg
Maximum Crushing Strength150275kg/cm2
Stiffness871091000 kg/cm2
Specific Gravity0.36
Weight496400kg/m3
Radial Shrinkage4%
Tangential Shrinkage7%

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