How to Identify Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) Wood (Hymenaea courbaril)

Heartwood varies from light orangish brown to darker reddish brown, sometimes with contrasting darker grayish-brown streaks. Grain typically interlocked, with a medium to coarse texture and good natural luster. End grain: Diffuse porous; large pores, very few, solitary and in radial multiples of 2-3; dark-brown mineral deposits occasionally present; parenchyma vasicentric, aliform, confluent, and marginal; rays narrow to medium, normal spacing.

Janka hardness 2,350 lbf (side hardness: the force needed to embed a 0.444-inch steel ball to half its diameter). Specific gravity 0.71 at 12% moisture content, so a cubic foot weighs roughly 44 lb. Weight in the hand is one of the quickest checks: compare a piece of known size against a board you already know.

Marketed as 'Brazilian Cherry' for its warm reddish-brown color, Jatoba is unrelated to true cherry and is far denser and harder (roughly 2,350 lbf vs cherry's 950 lbf) with interlocked (not straight) grain and a diffuse-porous structure with large, sparse pores, versus cherry's finer semi-ring-porous texture. The Black Cherry page has its own details.

No characteristic odor; despite the trade name 'Brazilian Cherry,' it bears minimal relation to true cherry (Prunus) except in color.

Flooring, furniture, cabinetry, tool handles, shipbuilding, railroad ties, and turned objects.

Difficult to work on account of its density and hardness; glues, stains, turns, and finishes well and responds well to steam-bending; reported to cause skin irritation (uncommon).

Photograph a freshly cut or sanded face in daylight, not a finished or stained surface, since stain hides color and finish flattens grain. Add a close-up of the end grain: cut a clean end, wet it or sand it to 220, and shoot from straight on; pore pattern and rays are the most reliable marks. Put a ruler in frame. The app suggests the likely species; confirm with the end grain and weight.