GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: greenish-yellow heartwood, when freshly sawn, becoming dark greenish-brown; pleasant smell, slightly sweet, and imperceptible taste; high density; wavy or interlocked grain; medium texture; irregularly glossy surface.

DENSITY: Bulk density at 15% moisture is 960 kg/m³

DRYING: Air drying is slow and difficult, but without causing a high incidence of defects. Artificial drying is reported as slow, with accentuated cracking and moderate warping. There is no indication of specific programs for Itaúba wood.

WORKABILITY: Itauba wood is moderately difficult to be worked, both with manual tools and with a machine, due to the presence of silica; however it allows a good finish.

DURABILITY: Black Itaúba wood, under adverse conditions, is considered to have very high resistance to attack by xylophagous organisms, according to practical observations regarding its use.

PRESERVATION: Black Itaúba wood must have very low permeability to preservative solutions, with pores clogged by oil-resin and tylos, when subjected to pressure treatment.

USES: civil construction, furniture, general utilities, agricultural implements, transport, turned parts and vessels.