Sterculia apetala

Chicha

Family: Sterculiaceae

Other Common Names: Anacag_ita (Puerto Rico), Bellota, Chiapas (Mexico), Panama (Panama), Sunsun (Venezuela), Camajuru (Colombia).

Distribution: Southern Mexico and Central America to Peru and Brazil. Widely planted elsewhere in the tropics as a shade tree, for the edible seeds, and as a honey plant.

The Tree: May reach a height of 130 ft and a trunk diameter of 80 in.; develops prominent, narrow buttresses.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood light brown, reddish brown, or yellowish brown, not sharply demarcated from the yellowish sapwood. Luster medium; texture medium; grain straight to irregular; without distinctive odor or taste.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.33; air-dry density 25 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (First two sets of data based on the 2-in. standard, the third on the 1-in. standard.)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

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

Green (75) 4,460 980 2,140

12% 7,110 960 4,230

12% (44) 4,900 965 NA

12% (24) 5,900 NA 3,680

Janka side hardness at 12% moisture content ranges from 270 to 530 lb. Forest Products Laboratory toughness average for green and dry material 48 in.-lb. (5/8-in. specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: Reported to air-dry well if dried slowly; prone to collapse. No data available on kiln schedules. Shrinkage green to ovendry radial 3.7%; tangential 8.3%; volumetric 11.8%.

Working Properties: Generally reported to be easy to work with both hand and machine tools; timber from Panama showed considerable fuzzy grain after planing.

Durability: No resistance to attack by decay fungi or insects, also prone to blue stain.

Preservation: One report describes this wood as very easy to treat obtaining high absorption and deep and uniform penetration, another rates this wood as moderately difficult.

Uses: Boxes and crates, interior construction, plywood, particleboard, millwork.

Additional Reading: (24), (44), (75)

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.

M 150 272-14Some European markets still prefer hand hewn greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei

for heavy marine construction. Work is being done on a river landing in Guyana.

M 150 272-15 In the highlands of El Salvador, ocote pine (Pinus ococarpa) is cut in

boards by pit sawing. Finished lumber is sent down the mountainside on the backs o

unattended burros.

M 150 272-15In the highlands of El Salvador, ocote pine (Pinus oocarpa) is cut into

boards by pit sawing. Finished lumber is sent down the mountainside on the backs o

unattended burros.