Brazilian Cherry is very popular in flooring now. This exotic wood comes from a large rainforest tree – Brazilian Cherry called Guapinol in Brazil, and, sometimes, goes under trade names Jatoba or Courbaril. Why is it so popular? Several factors make it a very desirable choice for residential and commercial applications such as flooring, parquet, fine furniture and cabinetry, stair treads and decorative veneers…
1. Beautiful natural color – Brazilian Cherry is a reddish brown wood, with an interlocking grain and some golden and darker brown streaks which give it an exotic expression.
2. And the color is … changing. Originally light, it naturally darkens from tan or salmon to a deep reddish brown over several months… to reveal cherry beauty. (You cannot make it stay light – the so-called “Brazilian Cherry Lite” is actually not a true Brazilian Cherry but a different tree – Brazilian Oak).
3. Very hard – 2.28 times harder than domestic red oak, and is about 3 times harder than American Cherry. It’s also heavy and very strong wood.
4. It steam-bends and glues well.
5. Available as prefinished and unfinished.
It’s obviously more expensive than the domestic Cherry wood.
< This door shows well the reddish brown color of Brazilian Cherry.
Compare Brazilian Cherry (bottom) to American Cherry (before darkening).
