What is Jatoba Wood?
The Wood Guide · The wood register
Tropical hardwood · referenceJatoba wood
Sold as Brazilian cherry, botanically nothing to do with cherry. One of the hardest flooring woods there is, with edible fruit and a resin that becomes varnish.
- Hymenaea courbaril
- Tree up to 40 m
- Floors and stairs
JatobaHymenaea courbaril
Jatoba wood
Sold as Brazilian cherry, botanically nothing to do with cherry. One of the hardest flooring woods there is, with edible fruit and a resin that becomes varnish.
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Jatoba in brief
From the tropical highland forests of South and Central America, especially Brazil. Family Leguminosae — botanically a legume, not a cherry.
The trade name Brazilian cherry comes from the colour, not the botany: the heartwood is orange-red to reddish brown and changes over the years to a deep, warm walnut tone. The sapwood is clearly lighter and easy to tell apart.
Where jatoba really excels is wear resistance. The wood is so hard that it is standard for heavily used floors and stairs — the place where most wood species show visible signs of wear after ten years.
The jatoba tree secretes a resin called copal, which is used in varnish and in religious ceremonies. The fruits are large and edible; they are eaten locally and used in traditional medicine.
- Botanical
- Hymenaea courbaril and relatives
- Family
- Leguminosae – Caesalpiniaceae
- Origin
- Brazil, South and Central America
- Tree
- 30 to 40 m; branch-free trunk of 18 to 24 m
- Trunk diameter
- 60 to 90 cm, rarely up to 150 cm
- Heartwood
- orange-red to reddish brown, darkens
To be fair: jatoba changes colour strongly under the influence of light. What you see on delivery is not what you have after a year: the wood becomes noticeably darker. Put a rug on a new floor and after a year you will see exactly where it lay.
The tree and its wood
Thirty to forty metres
With branch-free trunks of 18 to 24 metres — that yields long, knot-free boards.
Swollen trunk base
Characteristic, and the reason the lowest part of the trunk is usually not sawn.
Heartwood and sapwood
The orange-red heartwood stands out clearly against the light sapwood — easy to sort, and a good check when buying.
Large edible fruits
Eaten locally and used in traditional medicine.
What jatoba is used for
| Use | Suitable? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flooring | Excellent | The main use: extremely hard-wearing |
| Stairs | Excellent | Withstands heavy use without wearing in |
| Furniture | Good | Beautiful colour and figure, but heavy |
| Outdoor furniture | Good | Durable enough, provided it is treated |
| Veneer and decorative work | Good | The colour is the reason |
| Hydraulic engineering | Limited | Azobé and bilinga are more suitable for that |
True cherry (Prunus) is European or North American, much softer and lighter in colour. The trade name Brazilian cherry refers only to the colour. You come across such misleading names more often — Philippine mahogany is meranti, and Brazilian walnut is ipé.
Frequently asked questions about jatoba wood
Is jatoba really cherry wood?
No. Jatoba is Hymenaea courbaril, family Leguminosae — botanically a legume. The name Brazilian cherry refers only to the reddish colour.
Does jatoba change colour?
Yes, considerably. Under the influence of light it becomes noticeably darker and warmer in tone. On a floor that means: no rug or furniture in the same place for months if you want an even colour.
Can jatoba be used outdoors?
What is copal?
The resin of the jatoba tree. It is processed into varnish and used in religious ceremonies — a by-product with a trade of its own.
Jatoba in perspective
A reference species in our register — the flooring wood of the tropics.
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Hymenaea courbaril — Tim van de Staak, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hymenaea courbaril — Philipp Zinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Hymenaea courbaril — Conrado, CC BY 3.0