Tropical wood · Tropical America
Aromata wood
Aromata (Clathrotropis spp., family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 2,960 lbf (13,167 N), and air-dry it weighs about 60–75 lb/ft³ (961–1,201 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 93–94.
Other names, by country: Alma negra, Sapan (Colombia), Cabarí, Timbó pau, Timbó rana (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 2,960 lbf (13,167 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness at 12% moisture content 2,960 lb.”
- Air-dry density
- 60–75 lb/ft³ (961–1,201 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.80–0.97 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) averages from 0.80 to 0.97; air-dry density 60 to 75 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 6.7% tangential
- Radial 5.0%, volumetric 11.9%
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 | 23,100 psi (159 MPa) | — | 16,500 psi (114 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 28,600 psi (197 MPa) | 3.5 million psi (24.1 GPa) | 13,900 psi (96 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- The sapwood is thick, sharply defined, yellowish to brownish-white. Heartwood is pinkish-brown to dark brown streaked with light-colored parenchyma bands. Grain is straight to irregular; texture medium to very coarse; luster medium to dull; odorless and tasteless.
- Working properties
- The wood is reported to be difficult to saw and difficult to work on all machines except dresses well in planing and sanding. The wood finishes smoothly and takes a high polish; easy to glue.
- Durability
- Reported to be moderately to highly resistant to attack by decay fungi; moderately resistant to subterranean termites, and probably has moderate to low resistance to marine borers.
- Uses
- Heavy construction, furniture components, and flooring.
- Where it grows
- Several species distributed in the Guianas, central and northern Amazon region, and into the Magdalena Valley of Colombia.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 93–94, 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 aromata against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.