Manilkara bidentata

Bulletwood

Balata

Family: Sapotaceae

Other Common Names: Chicozapote (Mexico), Ausubo (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic), Nispero (Panama), Beefwood (Guyana), Bolletri (Surinam), Balata rouge (French Guiana), Macaranduba (Brazil).

Distribution: Widely distributed throughout the West Indies, Central America, and northern South America; occurs in many forest types and not exacting as to soil or topography. Locally frequent.

The Tree: Well-formed tree reaching heights of 100 to 150 ft and diameters of 2 to 4 ft, occasionally up to 6 ft or more. Boles straight and clear to 60 ft, often basally swollen.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood light to dark reddish brown, distinct but not sharply demarcated from the whitish or pale brown sapwood. Texture fine and uniform luster low to medium; grain straight to occasionally slightly wavy or interlocked; without distinctive odor or taste.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.85; air-dry density 66 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (First and third sets of data based on the 2-in. standard; second on the 1-in. standard.)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

Green (74) 17,310 2,700 8,690

12% 27,280 3,450 11,640

12% (24) 29,200 3,520 13,300

12% (20) 32,600 NA 15,200

Janka side hardness 2,230 lb for green material and 3,190 lb at 12% moisture content. Forest Products Laboratory toughness average for green and dry material is 265 in.-lb. (5/8-in. specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: Balata or bulletwood is generally reported to be a difficult wood to air-season, tending to develop severe checking and warp. However, if piled to assure a slow rate of drying, degrade can be kept to a minimum. A kiln schedule similar to T1-B1 has been suggested. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 6.3%; tangential 9.4%; volumetric 16.9%.

Working Properties: The wood is moderately easy to work despite its high density, rated good to excellent in all operations. Gluing requires special care to acquire good bond. Steam-bending properties are rated excellent.

Durability: Very resistant to attack by decay fungi; highly resistant to subterranean termites and moderately resistant to dry-wood termites. Not resistant to marine borer attack.

Preservation: Has high resistance to absorption of moisture and is also highly resistant to preservation treatments.

Uses: Heavy construction, textile and pulp mill equipment, furniture parts, turnery, tool handles, flooring, boat frames and other bent work, railway crossties, violin bows, billiard cues, and other specialty uses. Also well known for its yield of balata or gutta-percha collected from tapped trees.

Additional Reading:: (20), (24), (46), (74)

M 150 282-3Logs are delivered to a sawmill in southern Nigeria. African mahogany

(mostly Khaya ivorensis) is in high demand on overseas markets. Export of logs fro

this region, as well as from most other tropical areas, is being restricted.

M 150 282-2Band mills in Ghana are designed to handle logs 5 feet and more in

diameter. Obeche or Wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) logs yield lumber favored for

joinery and millwork.

M 150 273-14In many areas of the tropics, fast-growing species are being introduced

future supplies of fuel wood and industrial wood. Batai (Albizia falcataria) is

a favored plantation species in the Philipines.

M 150 273-13 Shores spp. is still the major timber group harvested in Southeast

Asia. With modern chain saws, fellers no longer need scaffolding to get above larg

buttresses.

M 150 281 Felling of white lauan or almon (Shorea a;mon) with axes in the early

1900s in the Philippines. Most hardwood plywood now imported into the USA is

produced from species of Shorea.

[M 150 273-9Plywood mill in San Jose, Costa Rica, produces rotary-cut veneers mostly from banak (Virola spp.) and crabwood or cedro macho (Carapa guianensis). Logs trucked in from the Caribbean coast.]

M 150 273-21Mahot or Tauary (Couratari spp.) grows from Panama south to the Brazilian Amazon. Trunk diameters may exceed 4 feet above the stout buttresses. In tropical American moist forests, single species usually make up less than 5 percent of the stand volume.

M 150 273-18Trees in the tropics yield not only wood but a wide array of gums, oil

resins, tannins, edible fruits, medicinals, latex, fodder, and much more. The para

rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) at the end of its tapping life is used to produce

attractive wood suitable for furniture components.