How to Identify Ipe Wood (Handroanthus spp.)

Ipe, Handroanthus spp.: color, grain, end grain, Janka hardness (3,680 lbf) and weight, and how to tell it from Other dense tropical decking woods, quoted from the USDA Wood Handbook and The Wood Database.

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At a glance

Scientific name: Handroanthus spp.
Type: Hardwood
Origin: Central and South America
Color: Heartwood varies from reddish brown to yellowish olive brown or darker blackish brown, sometimes with contrasting darker stripes.
Grain and texture: Fine to medium texture, grain varying from straight to irregular or interlocked; moderate natural luster.
End grain: Diffuse porous; growth rings not visible; vessels medium to large, few to moderately numerous, with tyloses and colored mineral deposits common; parenchyma minimal (unilateral, winged, marginal where visible); rays narrow, not visible without magnification.
Janka hardness: 3,680 lbf
Specific gravity (12% MC): 0.92
Other clue: Mild scent while being worked; contains lapachol compounds that can cause skin irritation; excellent weathering (a Coney Island boardwalk installation lasted roughly 25 years).

What Ipe looks like

Heartwood varies from reddish brown to yellowish olive brown or darker blackish brown, sometimes with contrasting darker stripes. Fine to medium texture, grain varying from straight to irregular or interlocked; moderate natural luster. End grain: Diffuse porous; growth rings not visible; vessels medium to large, few to moderately numerous, with tyloses and colored mineral deposits common; parenchyma minimal (unilateral, winged, marginal where visible); rays narrow, not visible without magnification.

Hardness and weight

Janka hardness 3,680 lbf (side hardness: the force needed to embed a 0.444-inch steel ball to half its diameter). Specific gravity 0.92 at 12% moisture content, so a cubic foot weighs roughly 57 lb. Weight in the hand is one of the quickest checks: compare a piece of known size against a board you already know.

Ipe vs Other dense tropical decking woods

Ipe is among the hardest decking timbers commercially available (roughly 3,060-3,680 lbf), with contrasting dark stripes and mineral deposits visible in the pores; its extreme cutting resistance and pronounced blunting effect on tools helps separate it from somewhat softer tropical decking substitutes.

Smell, weight and other clues

Mild scent while being worked; contains lapachol compounds that can cause skin irritation; excellent weathering (a Coney Island boardwalk installation lasted roughly 25 years).

Where you will meet it

Flooring, decking, exterior lumber, veneer, tool handles, and other turned objects.

Working it

Extremely difficult to process: hard and dense with high cutting resistance and pronounced blunting of cutting edges; interlocked grain can tear out; gluing requires surface preparation; can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, headaches, asthma-like symptoms, and vision disturbances.

How to photograph it for identification

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.

FAQ

How hard is Ipe?

Janka hardness 3,680 lbf. For comparison, Red Oak is about 1,290 lbf and Eastern White Pine about 380 lbf.

How do I tell Ipe from Other dense tropical decking woods?

Is Ipe a hardwood or a softwood?

Ipe is a hardwood: it comes from a broadleaf tree. Hardwood and softwood describe the kind of tree, not how hard the wood is; some hardwoods are softer than some softwoods.

What color is Ipe?

Heartwood varies from reddish brown to yellowish olive brown or darker blackish brown, sometimes with contrasting darker stripes.

Find out what tree that really is.

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