# Scott's Mystery wood #3



## Scott Carter (Aug 12, 2018)

Hi all,
This wood seems to have a pretty straightforward anatomy...difuse porus, primarily solitary pores (maybe exclusive), no growth rings visible, lozenge aliform parenchyma, rays barely visible. I just can't seem to find a good match for a wood in my region, any thoughts?

Other traits - Central American hardwood, approx 58 lbs / cf, slight aroma (maybe vanilla), interlocked grain, no fluorescence on wood (haven't tried water or alcohol extract to see if different), color is slightly browner and deeper than the photos (couldn't get the richness to really show up), end grain photos are approx 1/2" x 1/2" to give you scale. 
Thanks!

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds (Aug 12, 2018)

End grain looks exactly like shedua but the face grain does not. End grain looks a lot like kempas and the face grain does as well, but I'm not convinced. Check it against the kempas page on my site and see what you think.

EDIT: nuts. Kempas is Asian.

Merbau is another possiblity based on end grain but it's also Asian

How certain are you that this is from Central America?


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## Scott Carter (Aug 12, 2018)

phinds said:


> End grain looks exactly like shedua but the face grain does not. End grain looks a lot like kempas and the face grain does as well, but I'm not convinced. Check it against the kempas page on my site and see what you think.
> 
> EDIT: nuts. Kempas is Asian.
> 
> ...



I agree that the shedua is off on the face grain and it seems to have more banding than my sample which is almost non-existent. Also from Africa is an issue. I had considered kuruguay (South America) since they are both *Guibourtia spp. *and the face grain and weight are a better match but it has possibly too much banding as well and the rays are pretty strong. Thoughts?

I had reviewed both of the other 2 woods prior to posting here because they looked really close to me as well. I just have a hard time believing that someone would ship Asian hardwood to Panama. South American woods I can believe since there is some overlap in range, but Africa and Asia would require ship transport and just doesn't seem feasible.


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## phinds (Aug 12, 2018)

Scott Carter said:


> I agree that the shedua is off on the face grain and it seems to have more banding than my sample which is almost non-existent. Also from Africa is an issue. I had considered kuruguay (South America) since they are both *Guibourtia spp. *and the face grain and weight are a better match but it has possibly too much banding as well and the rays are pretty strong. Thoughts?
> 
> I had reviewed both of the other 2 woods prior to posting here because they looked really close to me as well. I just have a hard time believing that someone would ship Asian hardwood to Panama. South American woods I can believe since there is some overlap in range, but Africa and Asia would require ship transport and just doesn't seem feasible.


Yeah, I didn't even mention kuruguay because of the strong banding and I agree w/ you on the unlikelihood of the shipping.


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## Scott Carter (Aug 14, 2018)

Paul,
I was looking around your site a bit more for other woods and I came across "hormigo" that seems like it might be a decent fit. What do you think?


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## phinds (Aug 14, 2018)

Good call. I dismissed that one because even though the pore sizes, shapes, and distribution are the same there was the issue that on my samples the rays are not at all prominent the way they are on your sample. I checked it out on the Inside Wood however and it looks like a solid match.

http://images.lib.ncsu.edu/luna/servlet/view/search?QuickSearchA=QuickSearchA&q=="Modern+Wood"+Platymiscium&search=Search


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## Scott Carter (Aug 14, 2018)

phinds said:


> Good call. I dismissed that on because even though the pore sizes, shapes, and distribution are the same there was the issue that on my samples the rays are not at all prominent the way they are on your sample. I checked it out on the Inside Wood however and it looks like a solid match.
> 
> http://images.lib.ncsu.edu/luna/servlet/view/search?QuickSearchA=QuickSearchA&q=="Modern+Wood"+Platymiscium&search=Search


Thanks Paul, I appreciate all your help

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mr. Peet (Aug 14, 2018)

Scott Carter said:


> Thanks Paul, I appreciate all your help



@phinds 

Well gents, I just looked over my reference samples. I have 'Hormingo' as _Platymiscium dimorphandrum_. My sample was from Eric Meier, Wood Data Base, and his sample shows solitary pores with little to no lozenge shapes. However, Inside wood and the pictures above do match well. I would add that my sample of Macacauba/Coyte/Granadillo, _Platymiscium pinnatum_, matches the above posted sample very well including pore shapes.

Point being, I think the genus you chose is likely correct, species specific might be pushing the limits a little. Looks like a neat wood to work. Definitely some shiny stuff and gums in those pores...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Scott Carter (Aug 16, 2018)

Mr. Peet said:


> @phinds
> 
> Well gents, I just looked over my reference samples. I have 'Hormingo' as _Platymiscium dimorphandrum_. My sample was from Eric Meier, Wood Data Base, and his sample shows solitary pores with little to no lozenge shapes. However, Inside wood and the pictures above do match well. I would add that my sample of Macacauba/Coyte/Granadillo, _Platymiscium pinnatum_, matches the above posted sample very well including pore shapes.
> 
> Point being, I think the genus you chose is likely correct, species specific might be pushing the limits a little. Looks like a neat wood to work. Definitely some shiny stuff and gums in those pores...


You are probably correct in regards to finding the specific species. In my post "Another Wood ID", we had decided Macacauba was a decent match and has a similar end grain to this but with a bit more winged parenchyma. The coloring and face grain differ enough that it is clear they are different species but Platymiscium spp. is the best match that I can see for both of them.

On a side note, I am making progress as the photo below shows. Just when I thought I was over the hump and went through a stack of wood quickly and identified it as matches to others that I had previously identified, I find 4 unique pieces in a row that are completely new to me. Time to start reviewing the website again.


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