Jatoba (ecological hardwood)

Jatoba wood has exceptional qualities. First of all, we had to consider the continuous offer and the available lengths of the material. Then, durability and stability were important characteristics. Because we wanted to take into consideration each of these factors, our choice became very restricted.

new Jatoba

Ecology in mind

After intensive collaboration with several authorities such as universities and nature and wild life organizations, Jatoba hardwood came out as one of the best qualities. As a result, here also a prime level of sustainability of the end product is guaranteed.

Important!

Jatoba tends to ‘bleed’. When the wood is exposed to rain for the first few times, it will give off a blood red dye. The dye is water-soluble and will disappear entirely after a few rain showers. If you wish to get rid of the dye right away, simple hose it away with the garden hose.

weathered Jatoba

About the wood

The Jatoba we use for our ExTempore furniture comes from certified plantations in South America. Jatoba is the Brazilian name of this tree, but because of its great spread, it has other names: Copinol, Courbaril, Guapinol, Algarrobo, Locust, Jutai, etc. The Jatoba tree grows in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru and all South American islands. The average maximum height is 40 m and measures about 1.5 m around.

The Jatoba tree is a canopy tree with white flowers. The biological name of the Jatoba tree is Hymenaea Courbaril and belongs to the sub-family of the Caesalpinioideae, part of the Fabaceae (or Leguminosae). The Acacia, Mimosas, Alfalfa and even beans and peas belong to this group. The Jatoba tree is not only famous for its wood. For many centuries, people in South America have been using it to feed themselves or to make traditional drugs. The long fruits are consumed and a healing and energetic tea is made from the bark, which also produces a resin called Copal. This resin is used to make varnish and paint.

Fantastic assets

The wood itself is known for its many good features: good hardness, minor warping and few internal tensions. It can easily be dried and finished off. The Jatoba wood is very resistant to all kinds of vermin. The wood has a rather dense structure and the texture is mildly coarse. The heartwood is salmon or orange colored when freshly chopped and darkens to reddish brown later on. The sapwood has a pinkish white color. Jatoba wood is used for many indoor and outdoor products such as window frames, musical instruments, furniture, parquet floors, stairs, bridges, structural work, etc.

Hard to handle

Being an extremely hard and difficult to work wood, the choice for Jatoba does not simplify things. Jatoba has comparatively excellent shrinkage and warping characteristics. The laws of nature can of course not be disregarded: temperature and humidity fluctuations put an extreme strain on the material. This can always, be it to a small degree, result in warping and cracks.

The only major but innocent disadvantage is the wood’s bleeding. When exposed to rain, the wood gives off its red water-soluble dye. This dye drips onto the underlying surface, where it will certainly disappear under the influence of rain. The duration and the intensity of the bleeding vary considerably and are therefore unpredictable. Oiling the wood will only postpone the bleeding.

Care and maintenance

Jatoba wood requires little or no maintenance. It can however be useful to remove persistent dirt using water and a (soft) brush. We strongly advise you not to use a high-pressure hose as this will roughen the woods smooth surface and irreparably damage the woods fibers.

If you want to maintain the woods natural color, you should treat it with teak oil or with another colorless wood protection product (oil). Depending on the climate, this should be done once or twice a year. At first, the wood will give off this red dye every time it comes into contact with water. The dye that drips onto the frame and the surface will remain water-soluble and will disappear entirely after a while.