Tropical wood · Tropical America
Jagua wood
Jagua (Genipa americana, family Rubiaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,410 lbf (6,272 N), and air-dry it weighs about 44 lb/ft³ (705 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 147–148.
Other names, by country: Jagua azul (Mexico), lrayol (Guatemala), Brir (Costa Rica), Angelina (Colombia), Caruto (Venezuela), Arasaloe, Tapoeripa (Surinam), Palo Colorado, Huitoc (Peru), Genipapeiro (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,410 lbf (6,272 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,410 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 44 lb/ft³ (705 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.57 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.57; air-dry density 44 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 9.1% tangential
- Radial 4.6%, volumetric 13.5%
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 | 11,000 psi (76 MPa) | 0.92 million psi (6.3 GPa) | 4,250 psi (29 MPa) |
| 15% MC | 14,200 psi (98 MPa) | — | 7,100 psi (49 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 17,300 psi (119 MPa) | 1.71 million psi (11.8 GPa) | 7,450 psi (51 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood light yellowish-brown sometimes with a slight pinkishor purplish-blue overcast, merging gradually into the cream-colored sapwood. Luster medium; texture rather fine; grain straight to irregular; without distinctive odor or taste. Narrow bands of darker colored wood produce an attractive striped figure.
- Working properties
- Works easily and with excellent results, rates better than mahogany and teak. Clues satisfactorily and should finish without difficulty. Can be peeled to produce tight and smooth veneers.
- Durability
- Reported to be very susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites, pinhole borers, and decay fungi.
- Uses
- Shoe lasts, tool handles, bent work, furniture and cabinet work, turnery, flooring, veneer, and plywood. Fruit is used to produce a sour refreshing drink, when immature used to prepare an indelible stain.
- Where it grows
- General distribution throughout tropical America, from the West Indies and Mexico to Argentina. Widely planted for its shade and fruit. Janka side hardness 1,410 lb at 12% moisture content. Forest Products Laboratory toughness 184 in.-lb at 12% moisture content (5/8-in. specimen).
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 147–148, 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 jagua against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.