Jatoba Wood

Hymenaea courbaril

Jatoba is probably most commonly known in North America as “Brazilian Cherry,” and it has been adopted largely by the flooring industry.  The deep red color is stunning, and the hardness and stability make it an excellent flooring option, so this adoption is pretty natural.  But Jatoba is no one-trick pony, and its applications span from inside to outside construction, and it is commonly used as decking, siding, and exterior furniture. In fact, we sell it as decking, but we have also included it in our Alpha wood cladding line with several products all of which have very difference color personalities.

Jatoba in our Alpha Cladding Line

Jatoba’s look can be changed many ways with finish while still giving those tropical undertones and superior performance in tough exterior environments.

Geographic Origin

Jatoba wood is from Brazil and is sourced pretty much across the entire country, meaning that it is not just widely available but it is also consistently available year around. When one side of Brazil is experiencing the rainy season and not moving any lumber, the other side of Brazil is still shipping Jatoba. And vice versa as the rainy season shifts. This is a key point, as many other tropical woods can only be shipped during small windows of time during the year, and therefore sourcing and stocking for many other types of tropical woods can be an issue later in the year with no material shipping.

Jatoba Specifications

Character	Green	Dry	Units
Bending Strength	–	22510	psi
Max Crushing Strength	10312	11780	psi
Stiffness MOE	–	2745	1000 psi
Hardness (Janka)	–	2690	lbs
Specific Gravity	–	.77	–
Weight	–	57	lbs/ft3
Density	–	62	lbs/ft3
Radial Shrinkage	–	3.8	%
Tangential Shrinkage	–	7.1	%
Volumetric Shrinkage	–	11	%