Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae, the legume family; the cassia group.
Origin: Purpleheart ranges from Sao Paulo in Brazil to Trinidad and Panama.
Other common names: Violetwood, pau roxo, pau ferro, coracy, amaranth, palo morado, tananeo, koroboreli, purperhart, amarante and guarabú.
The tree: It generally grows to heights of 100 to 120 ft. with a diameter of 1.5 to 3 ft. but it can reach heights of 170 ft. with diameters of 4 ft. It has straight, cylindrical boles that are clear to 60 to 90 ft. above large buttresses that are up to 12 ft. high. Its bark is grayish-black an smooth.
Appearance: The heartwood is dull brown when cut becoming deep purple upon exposure and eventually turning to a dark purplish hued brown. The sapwood is off-white to pinkish-cinnamon with light brown streaks, clearly demarcated and from 2 to 4 in. wide. The grain is usually straight although it is occasionally irregular, wavy or roey. The texture is fine and even and it has a medium to high luster.
Density: Purpleheart is a hard and heavy wood. Average reported specific gravity ranges from 0.67 to 0.91(ovendry weight/green volume), equal to an air-dried weight of 52 to 74 pcf. Janka hardness is 2710 pounds of force.
Drying & shrinkage: It dries well and fairly rapidly with little degrade. In Thick planks, there is some difficulty in extracting all the moisture from the center. Movement in service is rated as small. Average reported shrinkage values (green to ovendry) are 3.2% radial, 6.1% tangential and 9.9% volumetric.
Working properties: Purpleheart is moderately difficult to work with hand and machine tools and rapidly dulls cutters. It must be machined at a slow feed rate and specially hardened cutters are recommended. Some tearing occurs when planing when the grain is interlocked and it has a tendency to spit when nailed or screwed. It turns smoothly, glues well and takes finishes well.
Durability: It is a highly durable wood and is very resistant to attack by decay fungi and dry-wood termites, but it has little resistance to marine borers. The heartwood is highly resistant to preservative treatment.
Uses: It has many general uses including, heavy outdoor construction such as bridges and dockwork, filter press plates for chemical plants, flooring, cartwheel spokes, billiard cue butts, decorative veneer, inlay, marquetry, tool handles, shipbuilding, carving and general cabinetwork. A dye produced from the wood is used for textile fabrics.
Availability: Purpleheart timber and veneer is available in small quantities at a moderately expensive price.