Jatoba

Better known as "jatoba", courbaril is a fruit, but the name also refers to the tree, which is native to tropical America. It is found in Maranhão, but there are also a few specimens in the West Indies, Central America and South America. Its scientific name is "Hymenaea courbaril".

Introduction and origin — jatoba

Jatoba, whose botanical name is Hymenaea courbaril, belongs to the Caesalpiniaceae family. The natural range of this species extends from Mexico to South America.

The main resources are located in the rainforests of Brazil (up to 1,000 metres above sea level), but also in Colombia, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela.

The tree has an average height of 25 to 35 metres for a diameter generally between 60 and 120 cm. The trunk, which has buttresses at the base, is cylindrical and free of branches.

The log can reach 12 to 24 metres. The spread of the branches has a tabular form. The brown/greyish bark is smooth to slightly granular.

Appearance — jatoba

Jatoba has clearly distinct heartwood and sapwood. The heartwood is salmon red to orange brown. Black streaks are often visible in it. The fairly wide sapwood is greyish white or pinkish. Only the heartwood is of real interest. It darkens over time and turns purplish brown, which gives it a warm appearance.

The texture is slightly shimmering. The grain is generally straight, but some trees have fairly pronounced interlocked grain. The texture is medium to coarse and the structure fine to medium. This wood has no characteristic smell. It is very heavy and does not float. Its average density ranges between 0.8 and 1.17 at 12% moisture content.

Main characteristics — jatoba

Its heartwood is very difficult to treat and naturally durable. It is a class 3 timber, which can be used outdoors without ground contact. The same is not true of the sapwood. Jatoba stands up well to wood-destroying fungi, wood-boring insects and termites in temperate climates. The volumetric shrinkage of jatoba ranges from 12 to 14%, which makes it a fairly stable wood in service.

Remarkably for a species of this density, jatoba is only moderately prone to movement. It also has excellent physical and mechanical properties. Furthermore, it bends easily under heat.

Applications — jatoba

Jatoba has been used in France since 1920. In Europe and North America it is mainly used for parquet and decking boards because of its exceptional resistance to indentation and its long service life. It is also a wood particularly well suited to quality interior joinery (decorative doors, fine joinery) and to the high-end furniture industry.

Veneers, whether sliced or sawn, and cabinetmaking are common fields of application. Finally, as regards other applications, the outlets are numerous: boatbuilding (frames and interior fittings), staircases, panelling, cladding, industrial flooring and so on.

Advice on use and finishing — jatoba

Air drying is difficult. Kiln drying causes no major problems, neither heavy shrinkage nor damage. Sawing requires fairly regular sharpening because of the remarkable hardness. Stellite-tipped saw teeth are recommended for sawing, and tungsten carbide for machining.

Care must be taken with the interlocked grain. Quarter-sawing gives the most consistent and satisfactory results. The wood also has valuable cutting and machining qualities. Planing requires high power and a cutting angle of 20° in order to obtain a clean result. Slicing is carried out regularly and produces quality veneers.

Finally, sanding gives good results. Gluing is often delicate because of the hardness of the wood and should be restricted, as far as possible, to interior applications. Nailing and screwing are satisfactory. Sanding is easy and gives an excellent finish quality. The finishing stages themselves are varnishing or oiling. During installation, pre-drilling is necessary to take the screws.

Many advantages

At its base, jatoba produces a resin resembling a yellow-brown to reddish gum, transparent or translucent. It bears a name of Aztec origin, copal, which means incense. It is still used by some Native Americans in traditional worship ceremonies. This ritual incense is called "copal pom" by the Maya. The resin has various medicinal properties: sedative, anti-asthmatic, muscle-relaxing, healing and anti-inflammatory.

This copal is also the origin of a kind of neotropical amber (in this case the fossilisation is less advanced) and contains, like its counterpart, plant or animal inclusions. Finally, this resin also has industrial applications, notably in the formulation of varnishes and adhesives. As a footnote, the large flowers are visited by bats.