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Color/Appearance: Heartwood ranges from golden yellow to reddish brown, sometimes with violet/pinkish streaks. Yellowish sapwood not always clearly demarcated from heartwood. Color tends to darken with age.
Grain/Texture: Grain is straight with a uniform medium texture.
Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; medium pores in no specific arrangement; exclusively solitary; growth rings indistinct; rays not visible without lens; parenchyma not visible.
Rot Resistance: Durability can vary based on growing location: rated anywhere from moderately durable to very durable regarding decay resistance, though susceptible to insect attack.
Workability: Overall easy to work, producing good results, though Araracanga has an above average blunting effect on cutters. Glues, turns, and finishes well.
Odor: No characteristic odor.
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Araracanga has been reported to cause skin and respiratory irritation, as well as asthma-like symptoms. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information.
Pricing/Availability: This wood is serldom seen for sale in the United States. Prices should be in the mid-to-high range for an imported species.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, but is reported by the IUCN as being near threatened. Technically it doesn’t meet the Red List criteria of a vulnerable or endangered species, but is close to qualifying and/or may qualify in the near future.
Common Uses: Furniture, general construction (within its natural range), flooring, boatbuilding, and turned objects.
Comments: Araracanga, sometimes called Volador, is a close relative of more popular Peroba Rosa. Araracanga is slightly heavier, stronger, and of a coarser texture than Peroba Rosa.
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