Tropical wood · Tropical America
Mandioqueira wood
Mandioqueira (Qualea spp., family Vochysiaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 900–1,730 lbf (4,003–7,695 N), and air-dry it weighs about 37–46 lb/ft³ (593–737 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 263–264.
Other names, by country: Florecillo (Venezuela), Kouali, Grignon fou (French Guiana), Gronfoeloe (Surinam), Mandio, Mandioqueira, Quaruba (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 900–1,730 lbf (4,003–7,695 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness for air-dry material ranges from 900 lb to 1,730 lb.”
- Air-dry density
- 37–46 lb/ft³ (593–737 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.49–0.60 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies with species from 0.49 to 0.60; air-dry density 37 to 46 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 8.4% tangential
- Radial 4.4%, volumetric 11.4%
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 5 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 | 10,510 psi (72 MPa) | 2.03 million psi (14 GPa) | 5,200 psi (36 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 14,610 psi (101 MPa) | 2.2 million psi (15.2 GPa) | 7,570 psi (52 MPa) |
| Green | 11,700 psi (81 MPa) | 1.85 million psi (12.8 GPa) | 6,250 psi (43 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 20,000 psi (138 MPa) | 2.56 million psi (17.7 GPa) | 11,800 psi (81 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 18,000 psi (124 MPa) | 2.58 million psi (17.8 GPa) | — |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood pinkish-brown to reddish-brown, occasionally olive-brown; sometimes sharply demarcated from the grayish or yellowish sapwood. Luster golden in some species, medium in others; texture medium to decidedly coarse; grain straight to interlocked; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- The wood is generally rated as moderately difficult to work particularly when roey grain is present; saws and other cutting edges dull rather quickly because of silica accumulations, 0.10% is reported. Glues satisfactorily.
- Durability
- Heartwood somewhat variable in decay resistance, generally is rated as moderately durable and is not suitable for continuously damp conditions. Also prone to staining during drying. Weathering characteristics are rated as only fair and severe surface checking develops when unpainted wood is exposed. Q. albiflora is rated as moderately resistant to dry-wood termites.
- Uses
- Joinery, millwork, furniture, veneer and plywood, general construction, and flooring.
- Where it grows
- The genus is represented throughout tropical America from southern Mexico to Peru, but most abundantly in the Guianas and Brazil.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 263–264, 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 mandioqueira against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.