Tropical wood · Tropical America
Kirikawa wood
Kirikawa (Iryanthera spp., family Myristicaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 850–1,010 lbf (3,781–4,493 N), and air-dry it weighs about 26–44 lb/ft³ (416–705 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 175–176.
Other names, by country: Bémoonba, Pajoelidan, Mouchigo rouge, Soewana (Guianas), Sangrito (Venezuela), Cuangare, Virola de Tumaco (Colombia), Ucuhúba-rana (Brazil). Distribution Upland virgin forests in the Guianas, Amazon regions of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. Also Pacific Coastal areas of Colombia.
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 850–1,010 lbf (3,781–4,493 N)
- Green: 580–710 lbf (2,580–3,158 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 580 to 710 lb for green material and 850 to 1,010 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 26–44 lb/ft³ (416–705 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.35–0.57 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies with species from 0.35 to 0.57; air-dry density 26 to 44 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 9.4% tangential
- Radial 5.3%, volumetric 15.6%
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 4 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 | 7,570 psi (52 MPa) | 1.68 million psi (11.6 GPa) | 3,260 psi (22 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 12,650 psi (87 MPa) | 2.18 million psi (15 GPa) | 6,970 psi (48 MPa) |
| Green | 9,190 psi (63 MPa) | 1.96 million psi (13.5 GPa) | 4,430 psi (31 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 15,710 psi (108 MPa) | 2.62 million psi (18.1 GPa) | 9,420 psi (65 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood variable, light pinkish-cinnamon, dull oatmeal, or medium to dark brown, sometimes reddish or purplish. Sapwood wide, oatmealcolored, often not sharply demarcated. Luster medium to fairly high; texture medium; grain mostly straight; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- All of the species have very good machining properties and produce smooth surfaces on the normally straight-grained material. The wood is easily peeled for veneer.
- Durability
- The durability of all species is rated from nondurable to only moderately durable based on pureculture decay resistance tests. The woods are also prone to blue stain.
- Uses
- Millwork, turnery, furniture, boxes and crates, veneer and plywood, general construction, fiberboard, and particleboard.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 175–176, 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 kirikawa against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.