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| Name | angelim / sapupira amarela |
| Andere namen | Angelin, angelim, sapupira amarela, sapupira amarella, angelim do para, angelim da mata, angelim pedra, angelim da terra, caramate, murarena (Brazil), Saint Martin gris (French Guyana), makkakabbes (Suriname). |
| Botanical Name | Hymenolobium excelsum Ducke, H. petraeum Ducke, H. spec. div. |
| Family | Leguminosae (Mimosaceae) |
| Origin | Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guyana |
| Tree Description | Grows to heights of 45 m and average diameters of 0.9 m. Branch-free trunk lengths including root buttresses of max. 1.8 m range from 15 to 20 m, max. 24 m. |
| Available As | Planed timber |
| Wood Description | Yellowy orange brown to dark brown heartwood that lightens to light brown on exposure to sunlight. Heartwood contrasts strongly with the 30 to 100 mm wide yellowy white to grey sapwood. The colour contrast between the light-coloured pith and the darker tissue is striking and makes sapupira easily recognizable. Light and dark brown resin stains that occur in the wood are typical of sapupira and can be used decoratively for some applications. The characteristic scent of the newly cut wood dissipates after a few weeks. |
| Wood Type | HardWood |
| Grain | Straight. Interlocked and undulating grain often present. |
| Texture | Coarse |
| Density | 680/750/1000 kg/m3 at 12% humidity, 950 to 1200 kg/m3 when green. |
| Working | - |
| Drying | Slow with little distortion. Distortion or hairline cracks may form if dried too fast or without proper care. |
| Workability | Good. Manual working sometimes difficult due to alternating hard and soft fibres. Suited to machining but requires hardened steel cutting tools and correct cutting and chip angle for a good result and cutting tool working life. In practice, chipped grains can occur after planning. |
| Fixings and Fasteners | Average. Pre-drilling recommended. |
| Bonding | Good |
| Pliability | - |
| Surface Finishing | Good - using solvent-based paint. Average - with current generation of water-based systems. Filler required for smooth finishing. Brown leaching possible with water-based paints. Dark patches appear as if filled. Smooth patches can be avoided using paints with sufficiently high solid levels. |
| Durability | Moulds 2. |
| Strength Class | - |
| Impregnability | Heartwood - very difficult. |
| Peculiarities | - |
| Applications | Construction timber for interior and exterior frames (finger jointed), windows, doors, indoor and outdoor panelling, heavy-duty structures, bridges, sills, bodywork and shipbuilding. Fine-grained sapupira is also suitable for furniture, flooring, parquet, stairs, turning, walking sticks, handles, etc. |
| Quality Requirements | Sapupira is listed in KVT 95 Kwaliteit van houten gevelelementen ['Wooden Cladding Quality']. This means that sapupira frames can be produced with KOMO product certification. |
Source: Houtvademecum, 8e druk 2001