Guarea excelsa (American muskwood)

Scientific Name
Guarea excelsa

Trade Name
American muskwood

Family Name
Meliaceae

Synonyms
Guarea excels

Common Names
Alligator wood, American muskwood, Bois pistolet, Bois rouge a balles, Cabimbo, Carimbo, Cedrillo, Chahalanti, Chanalanti, Chohalante, Cramantee, Cramantree, Guano blanco, Guarea, Muskwood, Palo blanco, Tololo, Trompillo de plaza, Wild ackee

Regions of Distribution
Central America, Oceania and S.E. Asia

Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP]
Belize, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

Common Uses
Beams, Bedroom suites, Boat building (general), Boxes and crates, Building construction, Building materials, Cabin construction, Cabinetmaking, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Concrete formwork, Construction, Core Stock, Decks, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Factory construction, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Form work, Foundation posts, Framing, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Furniture, Hatracks, Heavy construction, Interior construction, Interior trim, Joinery, Joists, Kitchen cabinets, Light construction, Millwork, Particleboard, Plywood, Shingles, Shipbuilding, Sporting Goods, Turnery, Veneer, Veneer: decorative

Environmental Profile

Distribution Overview
West Indies, Mexico, Central America, and southern Brazil and Argentina.

Heartwood Color

Sapwood Color

The sapwood is distinct from the heartwood, but is not clearly demarcated

Grain

Texture

Luster

Natural Growth Defects

Natural Durability

Odor

Silica Content

Kiln Schedules

Drying Defects

Ease of Drying

Kiln Drying Rate

Tree Identification

Tree Size

Tree size is variable and depends upon species, but it is reported to attain a height of about 130 feet (39 m), with a trunk diameter that may be up to 48 inches (120 cm,) but are more commonly 40 to 75 feet (12 to 23 m) high and 12 to 36 inches (30 to 90 cm). Buttresses, when present, are about 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6 m) high, and the tree develops a stem that is straight to irregular.

Comments
General finishing qualities are rated as good

Blunting Effect

Boring

The wood is difficult to bore, and has a tendency to crumble and tear.

Carving

Cutting Resistance

Gluing

Mortising

Moulding

Movement in Service

The timber is dimensionally stable after seasoning, and retains its shape well in use.

Nailing

Planing

Material has a high blunting effect on cutters

Resistance to Impregnation

The sapwood and heartwood are very difficult to treat with preservatives and are rated as non-responsive

Resistance to Splitting

Response to Hand Tools

Routing & Recessing

Sanding

Screwing

Turning

Veneering Qualities

Steam Bending

Polishing

Staining

Varnishing

Strength Properties

Numerical Data

References
Armstrong, F.H.,1960,The Strength Properties of Timber,Forest Products Research Laboratory, London Bulletin,No.45

Belize,1946,42 Secondary Hardwood Timbers of British Honduras,British Honduras Forest Department Bulletin,No.1

Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois, E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Hardwoods – Temperate and Tropical. USDA, Forest Service, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.

Brazier, J.D., Franklin, G.L.,1967,An Appraisal of the Wood Characteristics and Potential Uses of some,Nicaraguan Timbers,FAO for Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough

Caribbean Commission,1952,Information on properties of timbers gathered by questionnaire and,collated in the secretariat of the Caribbean Commission including some,related data from technical literature.,Caribbean Commission, Port of Spain, Trinidad Caribbean Timbers, their,Utilization and Trade within the area CTUTA/1/Doc.7 + App.1-18

Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison.

Farmer, R.H.,1972,Handbook of Hardwoods,HMSO

Flores Rodriguez, L.J.,1969,Description Caracteristicas y usos de 25 Maderas tropicales,Mexicanas,Camera Nacional de la Industria de la Construccion Serie Maderas de Mexico

Forest Products Research Laboratory, U.K.,1938,The Properties of Cramtree. Guinea excelsa H.B.K. from British Honduras,Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough Project 22,Investigation 25 pp12

Forest Products Research Laboratory, U.K.,1967,The Steam Bending Properties of various timbers,Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Leaflet,No.45

Forest Products Research Laboratory, U.K.,1969,The Movement of Timbers,Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough Technical Note,No.38

Forests Products Research Laboratory, U.K.,1956,A Handbook of Hardwoods,Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Department of,Science and Industrial Research, Building Research Establishment

Gomez-Vazquez, B.G.,1981,Wood structure and potential end uses of some lesser known Mexican timber,species,Thesis for Msc. Univ. Wales Bangor

HMSO. 1981. Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition. Revised by R.H. Farmer, Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Lavers, G. M. 1966. The Strength Properties of Timbers. Forest Products Research Bulletin, No. 50. Ministry of Technology, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.

Lavers, G.M.,1983,The Strength Properties of Timber (3rd ed. revised Moore G.L.,Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Building Research,Establishment Report (formerly Bulletin No.50)

Marshall, R.C.,1934,Trees of Trinidad and Tobago,Government Printer Port of Spain Trinidad

Marshall, R.C.,1939,Silviculture of the trees of Trinidad and Tobago – British West Indies,O.U.P.,London

Pennington, T.D., Sarukhan, J.,1968,Manual para la Identificacion de campo de los Principales Arboles,Tropicales de Mexico,Inst. Nac. Inv. For. Mexico

Smith, D.N.,1959,The Natural Durability of Timber,Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Building Research,Establishment Record,No.30

Swabey, C.,1941,The Principal Timbers of Jamaica,Department of Science and Agriculture Jamaica Bulletin No.29