Tropical wood · Tropical America
Morototo wood
Morototo (Didymopanax morototoni, family Araliaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 665–915 lbf (2,958–4,070 N), and air-dry it weighs about 28–40 lb/ft³ (449–641 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 127–128.
Other names, by country: Yagrumo macho (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela), Chancaro blanco (Mexico), Yarumero (Colombia), Morototo, Kasavehout (Surinam), Tinajero (Venezuela), Mandioqueira (Brazil), Ambayguazú (Argentina).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 665–915 lbf (2,958–4,070 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness reported to vary from 665 lb to 915 lb for material at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 28–40 lb/ft³ (449–641 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.36–0.54 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) ranges from 0.36 to 0.54; air-dry density 28 to 40 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 9.2% tangential
- Radial 5.9%, volumetric 14.8%
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 | 12,000 psi (83 MPa) | 1.81 million psi (12.5 GPa) | 6,900 psi (48 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 13,100 psi (90 MPa) | 2.34 million psi (16.1 GPa) | — |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Pale-brownish color throughout, without distinction between heartwood and sapwood. Luster medium; texture medium to rather fine; grain usually straight; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- The wood works easily with either hand or machine tools but has a tendency to produce fuzzy and torn grain in planing and gives only fair surfaces in most other operations. Takes screws and nails very well and is easy to glue. Can be cut into utility grade veneers.
- Durability
- The wood is very susceptible to fungus and insect attack as well as attack by dry-wood termites; also prone to blue stain.
- Uses
- General carpentry and interior construction, utility plywood, boxes and crates, match splints, particleboard, and corestock.
- Where it grows
- Widespread in the wet forests of tropical America. West Indies and southern Mexico to Bolivia, Brazil, Guianas, and Argentina. Characteristic of open forests, edges of savannas, and former clearings.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 127–128, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for cabinets and trim with the species picker
Weigh morototo against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.