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CUMARU

Dipteryx odorata

Dipteryx odorata (syn Coumarouna odorata) of the family Fabaceae (aka Leguminosae), the legume family (aka pea family). May also include Dipterix micrantha.

Also, there is another species, Dipteryx micrantha, that is more commonly called shihuahuaco and probably SHOULD be distinguished from cumaru, but so many dealers blend the two, and list Dipteryx odorata as shihuahuaco, that it is just not realistic to seperate it out, so it's here too.

SO ... while I say at the top of this page that cumaru is Dipteryx odorata, it is possible (but less likely) that if you buy "cumaru", you will get D. micrantha or D. micrantha instead of D. odorata, but true shihuahuaco (D. micrantha) seems to be a pretty obscure wood, at least in the USA --- it is generally found in Peru where it is used for flooring, outdoor carpentry and other places where its hardness and durability are useful.

Cumaru is a large South American rainforest tree that produces a very grainy but dense and heavy wood. The tree produces a berry called the tonka berry and the wood is also sold under the common name tonka, among many others.

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my samples:


plank and end grain


end grain closeup of the piece directly above, although I see I got it upside down


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


flooring sample and end grain, listed as cumaru --- actually, this was listed as "Brazilian teak" which is just a made-up marketing name used by flooring companies, and has nothing to do with the wood and is not used outside of flooring companies, but the alternate name cumaru was also given. When I took this out of the box, I thought it was ipe, and I still point out that even down to the details in the end grain closeup it looks very much like ipe but I do believe it is probably cumaru.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


plank and end grain


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


plank and end grain


plank and closeup. Actual color is not as red as shown. See the pics directly below of a smaller plank cut from this one. Those pics have accurate color.


plank and end grain --- this was cut from the larger plank directly above


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


plank and closeup


plank and end grain


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


plank --- grain shows better in the enlargements; color is quite accurate. Just for grins, I've also posted the vendor's pic of the same plank as it appeared on eBay. This is an HONEST vendor, by the way, just one who cannot afford the time to do color correction on all of the hundreds of pics he has posted at any one time.


both sides of a small piece --- the first pic is a freshly sanded side and the next pic is of a side showing a slight age patina


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above (the end grain pic is a little too red)

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web pics:


plank with wet and dry sections


end grain closeups of pieces listed as shihuahuaco / Dipteryx odorata


flat cut planks that have been moistened for the pics


planks


planks listed as shihuahuaco / Dipteryx odorata


planks listed as shihuahuaco


flat cut and quartersawn planks listed as shihuahuaco / Dipteryn odorata


plank listed as cumaru / Dipterix micrantha


plank listed as cumaru / Brasilian chestnut


planks sold as tonka; I'm confident that the purple color in the last pic is incorrect


planks with a color that I am confident is just silly


plank listed as "camara" which is a name I can't find anywhere, but "camare" IS an alternate name for cumaru, so I'm guessing cumaru is probably what this wood is


flooring sold as cumaru


flooring sold as shihuahuaco / Dipteryx odorata


flooring listed as shihuahuaco


all-around tongue-and-grooved cumaru flooring plank


veneer