Tropical wood · Tropical America
Persea spp. wood
Persea spp. (Persea spp., family Lauraceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 860 lbf (3,825 N), and air-dry it weighs about 30–41 lb/ft³ (481–657 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 227–228.
Other names, by country: Péche marron (Haiti), Aquacote cimarrón (Mexico), Aquacatillo (Honduras, Costa Rica), Aquacate chico (Panama), Aquacate de anís (Colombia), Palto-jeia (Peru), Lingue (Chile), Canela-rosa, Canela ruiva (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 860 lbf (3,825 N)
- Green: 670 lbf (2,980 N)
- As printed: “Janka. side hardness about 670 lb for green material and 860 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 30–41 lb/ft³ (481–657 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.39–0.54 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varying with species from 0.39 to 0.54; air-dry density 30 to 41 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 9.5% tangential
- Radial 4.8%, 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 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 | 9,750 psi (67 MPa) | 1.36 million psi (9.4 GPa) | 4,600 psi (32 MPa) |
| 15% MC | 12,300 psi (85 MPa) | — | 6,400 psi (44 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 13,050 psi (90 MPa) | 1.47 million psi (10.1 GPa) | 7,020 psi (48 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 10,550 psi (73 MPa) | 1.79 million psi (12.3 GPa) | — |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood brown, reddish, or pinkish; the darkest sharply demarcated from the gray or cream-colored sapwood. Texture medium to coarse; luster medium to high; grain straight to irregular; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- All species are reported to be easy to work and finish smoothly; some fuzzy grain in one wood from Panama. P. lingue reported to be suitable for steam bending.
- Durability
- Generally reported to have low durability. P. americana reported to be slightly resistant to drywood termite attack.
- Uses
- Joinery, furniture, interior construction, millwork, boxes and crates, utility veneers and plywood, flooring and parquetry. Bark of P. lingue used for tanning. P. americana as indicated, produces the avocado.
- Where it grows
- Throughout tropical America from the West Indies and southern Mexico southward to Chile. P. Americana (Avocado) widely planted for its fruit. P. lingue (Lingue) from Coquimbo to Valparaiso and Santiago in Chile.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 227–228, 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 persea spp. against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.