Cedrelinga catenaeformis

Cedro-Rana

Tornillo

Family: Leguminosae

Other Common Names: Tornillo (Peru), Lacaica, Parica, Yacayaca (Brazil).

Distribution: Reported in the Loreto and Huanuco Provinces of Peru; encountered most frequently on slopes or hillsides and in the humid soil of the Brazilian Amazon region.

The Tree: A large tree 100 to 160 ft tall with a trunk diameter of 5 to 9 ft. Trees felled in Huanuco Province of Peru were up to 4 ft in diameter with merchantable heights of 4 ft and more.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood pale brown with a golden luster; prominently marked with dark red vessel lines; merging gradually into the lighter colored sapwood. Texture coarse; roe grained; odor and taste absent in dry specimens, but fresh-cut timber is reported to emit a disagreeable scent when worked. Compression failures are a common defect.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) reported to be about 0.53 for material collected in Brazil and 0.41 for Peruvian stock. Air-dry density, respectively, 40 and 31 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (2-in standard)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

Green (3) 7,600 1,377 3,610

Drying and Shrinkage: No data available on drying characteristics. Volumetric shrinkage (green to ovendry): 11.8%.

Working Properties: Saws woolly but is easy to cut; can be finished smoothly.

Durability: Reported to be probably fairly durable; also reported to have good weathering resistance.

Preservation: No data available.

Uses: General construction, furniture components.

Additional Reading: (3),(56)

M 150 282-3Logs are delivered to a sawmill in southern Nigeria. African mahogany

(mostly Khaya ivorensis) is in high demand on overseas markets. Export of logs fro

this region, as well as from most other tropical areas, is being restricted.

M 150 282-2Band mills in Ghana are designed to handle logs 5 feet and more in

diameter. Obeche or Wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) logs yield lumber favored for

joinery and millwork.

M 150 273-14In many areas of the tropics, fast-growing species are being introduced

future supplies of fuel wood and industrial wood. Batai (Albizia falcataria) is

a favored plantation species in the Philipines.

M 150 273-13 Shores spp. is still the major timber group harvested in Southeast

Asia. With modern chain saws, fellers no longer need scaffolding to get above larg

buttresses.

M 150 281 Felling of white lauan or almon (Shorea a;mon) with axes in the early

1900s in the Philippines. Most hardwood plywood now imported into the USA is

produced from species of Shorea.

[M 150 273-9Plywood mill in San Jose, Costa Rica, produces rotary-cut veneers mostly from banak (Virola spp.) and crabwood or cedro macho (Carapa guianensis). Logs trucked in from the Caribbean coast.]