The tree that produces this wood is called the Peltogyne porphyrocardia, and it can grow up to 100 feet tall. Purple heart wood is a type of wood that is native to Central and South America. What Is Purple Heart Wood And Where Does It Come From? But prepare to pay a high price for this luxury material. When you’re looking for a special piece of furniture or flooring, purple heart wood is a beautiful option. This vibrant hue is created by a natural chemical reaction that occurs when the tree is wounded. It is an exotic hardwood that’s prized for its rich purple color.
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In addition, purple heart wood is very stable and does not warp or crack over time. Purple heart wood is one of the hardest woods available, making it perfect for high-end furniture and other decorative items. As a result, it requires special tools and techniques in order to be cut and shaped.ĭespite its high cost, purple heart wood is becoming increasingly popular among woodworkers due to its unique properties. This is because the wood is very hard and dense. The tree that it comes from grows very slowly, which means that there is a limited supply.Īnother reason why purple heart wood is so expensive is because it is so difficult to work with. In addition, purple heart wood is very difficult to harvest and process. This type of wood is only found in certain parts of the world, such as South America. Purple heart wood is so expensive because it is quite rare.
Its hard-to-detect interlocking grain makes hand-planing, chiseling and working with carving tools a challenge. Purpleheart presents a number of challenges in the woodshop. Purpleheart is prized for use in fine inlay work especially on musical instruments, guitar fret boards (although rarely), woodturning, cabinetry, flooring, and furniture. Purpleheart is correspondingly difficult to work with. The dry timber is very hard, stiff, and dense with a specific gravity of 0.86 (860 kg/m 3 or 54 lb/cu ft). This effect can be minimized with a finish containing a UV inhibitor. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light darkens the wood to a brown color with a slight hue of the original purple. The trees are prized for their beautiful heartwood which, when cut, quickly turns from a light brown to a rich purple color. Overharvesting has caused several species to become endangered in areas where they were once abundant. mexicana is a geographic outlier, native to the Mexican state of Guerrero. The species of the genus range from southeastern Brazil through northern South America, Panama, Costa Rica, and Trinidad, with the majority of species in the Amazon Basin. The timber is desirable, but difficult to work.
The fruit is a pod containing a single seed. The flowers are small, with five white petals, produced in panicles. The leaves are alternate, divided into a symmetrical pair of large leaflets 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and 2–4 cm (1–2 in) broad. They are medium-sized to large trees growing to 30–50 m (100–160 ft) tall, with trunk diameters of up to 1.5 m (5 ft).
Peltogyne, commonly known as purpleheart, violet wood, amaranth and other local names (often referencing the colour of the wood) is a genus of 23 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae native to tropical rainforests of Central and South America from Guerrero, Mexico, through Central America, and as far as south-eastern Brazil. Illustration of Peltogyne paniculata flowers For other uses, see Purple Heart (disambiguation).
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