Tropical wood · Tropical America
Araracanga wood
Araracanga (Aspidosperma spp. (araracanga group), family Apocynaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,820–3,080 lbf (8,096–13,701 N), and air-dry it weighs about 53–64 lb/ft³ (849–1,025 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 31–32.
Other names, by country: Volador, Pelmax (Mexico), Mylady (Belize), Alcarreto (Panama), Copachi (Colombia), Kromanti kopi (Surinam), Jacamim, Piquiá marfim (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,820–3,080 lbf (8,096–13,701 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness for material from Belize was 1,820 lb air-dry, wood from Venezuela tested 3,080 lb.”
- Air-dry density
- 53–64 lb/ft³ (849–1,025 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.70–0.80 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) averages 0.70 to 0.80; air-dry density about 53 to 64 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 8.7% tangential
- Radial 5.2%, volumetric 14.3%
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 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 14,100 psi (97 MPa) | 2.5 million psi (17.2 GPa) | 6,650 psi (46 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 20,790 psi (143 MPa) | 2.76 million psi (19 GPa) | 11,110 psi (77 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 29,170 psi (201 MPa) | 3.89 million psi (26.8 GPa) | 14,480 psi (100 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood bright orange-red to reddish-brown when freshly cut becoming light pinkish-brown or pale yellowish-brown upon exposure and drying. Sapwood narrow, white to yellowish, becoming darker on exposure and then not clearly differentiated from the heartwood. Grain straight to irregular; texture medium, uniform; without pronounced odor or taste when dry.
- Working properties
- The wood is reported to machine well and rates fair to excellent in all operations; finishes smoothly and takes a high polish.
- Durability
- Heartwood is rated very durable in its resistance to both white-rot and brown-rot fungi (Belize source). However, field trials in Venezuela indicate only moderate durability.
- Uses
- Interior work, paneling, furniture, flooring, turnery, heavy construction, railway crossties, and boat framing.
- Where it grows
- The species placed in this group are found in Mexico, through Central America and into the high forests on moist terra firma in the lower Amazon region, including the Guianas.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 31–32, 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 araracanga against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.