Persea spp.

Lingue

Canela-Rosa

Family: Lauraceae

Other Common Names: Peche marron (Haiti), Aquacote cimarron (Mexico), Aquacatillo

(Honduras, Costa Rica), Aquacate chico (Panama), Aquacate de anis (Colombia), Palto-jeia (Peru), Lingue (Chile), Canela-rosa, Canela ruiva (Brazil).

Distribution: Throughout tropical America from the West Indies and southern Mexico southward to Chile. P. americana (Avocado) widely planted for its fruit. P. lingue (Lingue) from Coquimbo to Valparaiso and Santiago in Chile.

The Tree: Generally up to 60 to 65 ft in height with trunk diameters to 40 in.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood brown, reddish, or pinkish; the darkest sharply demarcated from the gray or cream-colored sapwood. Texture medium to coarse; luster medium to high; grain straight to irregular; without distinctive odor or taste.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varying with species from 0.39 to 0.54; air-dry density 30 to 41 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (First two sets of data based on the 2-cm standard; third on the 2-in. standard.)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

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

Green (30) 9,750 1,360 4,600

15% 12,300 NA 6,400

12% (42) 13,050 1,465 7,020

12% (44) 10,550 1,790 NA

Janka side hardness about 670 lb for green material and 860 lb at 12% moisture content. Amsler toughness 214 in.-lb at 15% moisture content (2-cm specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: Reported to be easy to moderately difficult to air-dry with little or no degrade or tendency to warp and collapse. No data on kiln schedules available. Shrinkage from green to ovendry: radial 4.8%; tangential 9.5%; volumetric 13.5%.

Working Properties: All species are reported to be easy to work and finish smoothly; some fuzzy grain in one wood from Panama. P. lingue reported to be suitable for steam bending.

Durability: Generally reported to have low durability. P. americana reported to be slightly resistant to dry-wood termite attack.

Preservation: Generally reported to have low permeability and rated moderately difficult to preserve.

Uses: Joinery, furniture, interior construction, millwork, boxes and crates, utility veneers and plywood, flooring and parquetry. Bark of P. lingue used for tanning. P. americana as indicated, produces the avocado.

Additional Reading: (30), (42), (44), (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.]

M 150 273-21Mahot or Tauary (Couratari spp.) grows from Panama south to the Brazilian Amazon. Trunk diameters may exceed 4 feet above the stout buttresses. In tropical American moist forests, single species usually make up less than 5 percent of the stand volume.

M 150 273-18Trees in the tropics yield not only wood but a wide array of gums, oil

resins, tannins, edible fruits, medicinals, latex, fodder, and much more. The para

rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) at the end of its tapping life is used to produce

attractive wood suitable for furniture components.

M 150 272-14Some European markets still prefer hand hewn greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei

for heavy marine construction. Work is being done on a river landing in Guyana.