prima vera

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NOTE: there is rarely any "standard" or "typical" look for a wood so take what's in this table with a grain of salt
the REST of the pictures on this page will give you a better overall feel for this wood

prima vera / Roseodendron donnell-smithii
(syn. s Cybistax donnell-smithii and Tabebuia donnell-smithii)
5" x 5" flat cut, 5" x 5" quartersawn, 3/4" wide end grain, and a 1/4" x 1/4" end grain closeup.

end grain characteristics vary considerably from piece to piece but in general, it is is diffuse porous with medium sized pores (pore distribution varies) and often there are bands with no pores. There are occasional pore multiples, rays are obvious at 10X, growth ring boundaries are distinct, grain is often interlocked. Surfaces are grainy.

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a sample plank of prima vera / Tabebuia donnell-smithii --- HUGE enlargements are present. Tabebuia donnell-smithii is a synonym for Roseodendron donnell-smithii.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of prima vera / Roseodendron donnell-smithii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of prima vera / Roseodendron donnell-smithii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This was cut from one of the larger planks shown somewhere on this page (I've lost track of which one)

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

a couple of small planks and a closeup (after sanding, the patina and some grime came off --- see below)

cut sections from the same set of planks as those above this set. The planks as shown originally had a layer of grime and some patina and the pics directly above are of freshly sanded pieces. The first and last pic each have slightly too much yellow. The wood is quite white and the true color is more accurately represented by the 3rd pic.

end grain closeups of two of the small planks shown above. The slightly greenish color is NOT correct ... it should be a pale yellow

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

small plank and end grain

end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- fairly fine-sanded but I did not get off the deep vertical sanding marks from the first coarse sanding.

both sides of a plank --- colors are very accurate --- the dark discoloration is blue stain.

planks and end grain --- this was cut from the larger piece above to show the blue stain up close

end grain closeup of the two pieces directly above --- the blue stain shows on the left of both pieces

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

side grain of the same two pieces --- the blue stain shows up very nicely on the upper piece and is completely absent from this face of the lower piece

planks --- this pic adds a slight red tint that is not present in the wood

planks --- the pic on the left has a red tint that it should not have; the pic on the right is very accurate in color

veneer

long veneer piece and a closeup of same; the yellow color in the distance pic is not correct --- the closeup has the correct color

two veneer pieces from the same long sheet (not the same as the one above, but the same as each other). The section that the first piece is from had some mottle and a slight curl and reflected the flashbulb in a way that makes the wood look more shiny than it really is. The surface texture of the first piece is identical to the second piece, it's just that the first piece has, as I said, some mottle and curl, and neither one is really shiny the way they show up here.

veneer sheet and closeup --- colors are accurate and so is the sheen

veneer --- yellowish color is accurate

veneer --- tan color is accurate

This veneer sheet was loaned to me by John Koehn whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

veneer sample of quartersawn prima vera / Tabebuia donnell-smithii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION D. Note that this uses the older botanical name which is now considered as just a synonym of Roseodendron donnell-smithii

web pics:

planks

planks listed as prima vera / Cybistax donnell-smithii

a thick plank listed as "variagated"

turning stock

guitar set

figured planks

planks and closeup, listed as figured prima vera / Cybistax donnell-smithii

scales with mild curl

fiddleback scales

veneer --- the green color is bogus; the pics that are green are all from a vendor who somehow makes most woods look green regardless of their actual color.