Peltogyne


Peltogyne, commonly known as purpleheart, amendoim, violet wood, amaranth and other local names 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.
They are medium-sized to large trees growing to tall, with trunk diameters of up to. The leaves are alternate, divided into a symmetrical pair of large leaflets long and broad. The flowers are small, with five white petals, produced in panicles. The fruit is a pod containing a single seed. The timber is desirable, but difficult to work.

Distribution

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. P. mexicana is a geographic outlier, native to the Mexican state of Guerrero. Overharvesting has caused several species to become endangered in areas where they were once abundant.

Wood

The trees are prized for their beautiful heartwood which, when cut, quickly turns from a light brown to a rich purple color. Exposure to ultraviolet light darkens the wood to a brown color with a slight hue of the original purple. This effect can be minimized with a finish containing a UV inhibitor. The dry timber is very hard, stiff, and dense with a specific gravity of 0.86. Purpleheart is correspondingly difficult to work with. It is very durable and water-resistant.

Uses and hazards

Purpleheart is prized for use in fine inlay work especially on musical instruments, guitar fret boards, woodturning, cabinetry, flooring, and furniture. The timber is also valuable in applications that require toughness, such as truck decking.
Exposure to the dust generated by cutting and sanding purpleheart can cause irritation and nausea, possibly due to the presence of dalbergione compounds in the wood. This also makes purpleheart wood unsuitable to most people for use in jewelry. Purpleheart is also a fairly expensive wood, which is why it is usually used in smaller-scale projects.

Gallery

Species