| Peltogyne | |
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| Illustration ofPeltogyne paniculata flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Detarioideae |
| Tribe: | Detarieae |
| Genus: | Peltogyne Vogel |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Peltogyne, commonly known aspurpleheart,violet wood,amaranth and other local names (often referencing the colour of the wood) is a genus of 23 species offlowering plants in the familyFabaceae; native totropical rainforests ofCentral andSouth America; fromGuerrero, Mexico, through Central America, and as far as south-eastern Brazil.[2]
They are medium-sized to largetrees growing to 30–50 m (100–160 ft) tall, with trunk diameters of up to 1.5 m (5 ft). Theleaves 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. Theflowers are small, with five white petals, produced inpanicles. Thefruit is apod containing a single seed. The timber is desirable, but difficult to work.
The species of the genus range from southeastern Brazil through northern South America, Panama, Costa Rica, and Trinidad, with the majority of species in theAmazon Basin.P. mexicana is a geographic outlier, native to the Mexican state ofGuerrero.[2]Overharvesting has caused several species to become endangered in areas where they were once abundant.[3]
The trees are prized for their beautifulheartwood which, when cut, quickly turns from a lightbrown to a richpurple color. Exposure toultraviolet (UV) light darkens the wood to a brown color with a slight hue of the original purple.[4] This effect can be minimized with a finish containing a UV inhibitor. The dry timber is very hard, stiff, and dense with aspecific gravity of 0.86 (860 kg/m3 or 54 lb/cu ft). Purpleheart is correspondingly difficult to work with.[5] It is very durable and water-resistant. As it's so stiff, it's used as aTonewood in instruments, especially guitarfretboards and reinforcing strips in theneck of guitars and basses. SomeNeck-Through-Body guitars are reinforced with Purpleheart to aid structural and tuning stability as well as for its resonant tonal properties.
Purpleheart is prized for use in fineinlay work especially on musical instruments,guitar fret boards (although rarely),woodturning,cabinetry, flooring, andfurniture.
Purpleheart presents a number of challenges in the woodshop. Its hard-to-detect interlocking grain makes hand-planing, chiseling and working with carving tools a challenge. However, woodturners can note that with sharp tools, it turns clean, and sands well.
Exposure to the dust generated by cutting and sanding purpleheart can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation and nausea, possibly because of the presence ofdalbergione (neoflavonoid) compounds in the wood. This also makes purpleheart wood unsuitable to most people for use in jewelry.[6] Purpleheart is also a fairly expensive wood, which is why it is usually used in smaller-scale projects.[7]
The following list of species is according toPlants of the World Online.[8]
Media related toPeltogyne at Wikimedia CommonsAuthority control databases: National |
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