Texture Browser

Botanical Name

Centrolobium orchroxylon Rose., Centrolobiuma robustum Mart., Centrolobium paraense Tul. (Fam. Leguminosae Papilionatae)

Trade Names

Arariba/Esquero, Arariba amarillo, Canary wood

Substitution

Indigenous to

South America, especially Brazil

Characteristics

The sapwood and the heartwood are sharply defined. The sapwood is nearly white and unusable. When freshly cut the heartwood is orange-yellow, pervaded with dark crimson stripes, later it turns darker to dark-red. The wood is extremely decorative. The rays are very fine, the pores on cross section are numerous, light tittles are visible. The structure is generally straight grained, the texture is fine to middle-fine and constant. The wood is heavy, hard and firm. The dark stripes make the wood fragile and they are a problem for handling. When freshly cut the wood has a smell, which is evocative of tannic acid.