Santos Mahogany

Santos Mahogany (Myroxylon balsamum)

Common Name(s): Santos Mahogany

Scientific Name: Myroxylon balsamum

Distribution: Southern Mexico and Central and South America

Tree Size: 65-100 ft (20-30 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight: 60 lbs/ft³ (960 kg/m³)

Basic Specific Gravity: .77

Hardness: 2,200 lb_f (9,790 N)

Rupture Strength: 22,770 lb_f/in² (157,000 kPa)

Elastic Strength: 2,430,000 lb_f/in² (16,760 MPa)

Crushing Strength: 12,250 lb_f/in² (84.5 MPa)

Shrinkage: Radial: 3.8%, Tangential: 6.2%, Volumetric: 10.0%, T/R Ratio: 1.6

Color/Appearance: There is a fair degree of color variation between boards of Santos Mahogany, ranging from a lighter golden brown to a darker purplish red or burgundy. The color tends to turn more red/purple with age. Quartersawn sections can show a striped or ribbon pattern.

Grain/Pore: Grain is usually interlocked, with a medium to fine texture, and open, medium-sized pores.

Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; medium pores in no specific arrangement; commonly in radial multiples of 2-3; reddish brown heartwood deposits common; growth rings usually indistinct, sometimes distinct due to discontinuous bands of marginal parenchyma; rays not visible without lens; parenchyma vasicentric and confluent.

Durability: Rated as very durable in regards to decay resistance, with mixed reports on susceptibility to insect attack.

Workability: Santos Mahogany has a noticeable blunting effect on cutting edges. Working characteristics are rated as fair to poor, on account of both its density and its interlocked grain. Staining or gluing can sometimes be problematic, though the wood finishes well.

Scent: Santos Mahogany can have a spicy scent when being worked.

Safety: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Santos Mahogany has been reported to cause skin and respiratory irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

Price/Availability: Should be in the mid-range for an imported timber; comparing similarly to other exotic hardwoods used in flooring, such as Ipe.

Comments: Despite its name, Santos Mahogany is not really related to true Mahogany (Swentia genus), nor is it even in the Meliaceae family, as is the case with African Mahogany (Khaya genus) and Spanish Cedar (Cedrela odorata). Santos Mahogany can have a Mahogany-like appearance, though it is typically much denser, harder, and stronger than true Mahogany—and also much more difficult to work.

Santos Mahogany trees, sometimes called Balsamo, are used in the production of the substance called Balsam of Peru, used as a fragrance in perfumes. Some common uses of the wood include: flooring, furniture, interior trim, and heavy construction.