Tropical wood · Tropical America
Angelica Tree wood
Angelica Tree (Dendropanax arboreus, family Araliaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 530–725 lbf (2,358–3,225 N), and air-dry it weighs about 31 lb/ft³ (497 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 119–120.
Other names, by country: Pollo (Puerto Rico), Lengua de vaca (Dominican Republic), Mano de oso, Palo santo (Mexico), Nagua blanca, Vaquero (Panama), Quesito, Pama (Venezuela), Banco (Colombia), Maria molle (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 530–725 lbf (2,358–3,225 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness at 12% moisture content 725 lb for Panama material and 530 lb for Venezuela material.”
- Air-dry density
- 31 lb/ft³ (497 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.40 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.40; air-dry density 31 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 8.3% tangential
- Radial 5.1%, volumetric 13.8%
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Tropical Timbers of the World (Chudnoff, 1979 edition), the only published source read for this wood
Strength
Bending strength is the modulus of rupture (MOR); stiffness is the modulus of elasticity (MOE); crushing strength is compression parallel to the grain. The sheet collects these from published tests: it prints 2 data sets, from different tests and sources, so they can differ widely; all are shown, in the sheet's order, each at the moisture content printed beside it, never restated as 12%.
| Moisture | Bending strength (MOR) | Stiffness (MOE) | Crushing strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% MC | 10,400 psi (72 MPa) | 1.64 million psi (11.3 GPa) | — |
| 12% MC | 9,300 psi (64 MPa) | — | 4,400 psi (30 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- There is no color differentiation between heartwood and sapwood; cream-colored to grayish-yellow. Grain is straight; texture medium and uniform; luster low to medium; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- The wood is easy to work but tends to develop fuzzy grain during planing. A poor wood for turnery. Easy to cut into veneer.
- Durability
- The wood is very susceptible to attack by decay fungi and insects, also prone to blue stain.
- Uses
- Boxes and crates, general carpentry and interior construction, utility furniture, millwork, veneer and plywood, particleboard.
- Where it grows
- Common and widespread in tropical America; West Indies, Mexico, and southward to Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia. Frequently used for shade in coffee plantations.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 119–120, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for furniture with the species picker
Weigh angelica Tree against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.