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VIROLA

Virola spp.
Virola spp. of the family Myristicaceae. This lightweight (about 28 lbs/cubic ft) pinkish-tan South American wood works easily and has a generally straight grain and a medium to high natural luster. It is moderately weak and has poor durability, both mechanically and chemically.

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

plank and closeup


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of virola cut from the larger plank directly above. HUGE enlargements are present.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above. The end grain pic has no enlargements.


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


small plank and end grain


end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of banak / Virola melinonii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Virola melinonii is a synonym of Virola michelii and "virola" is another common name for it.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of banak (= virola) / Virola koschnyi --- 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 virola / Virola spp. --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Note that the first face was sanded to 240 grit and the second face was left in the raw state in which I got it from Mark. I think the "figure" on the untouched side is water stain. NOTE: Mark has informed me, and I have confirmed by looking at the end grain update, that this is almost certainly NOT Virola spp. More to follow if we ever find out what it actually is.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

web pics:

planks


plank listed as virola / Virola bicuiba


these two pics, which are obviously of the same piece of wood, were lifted from two different web sites. One site listed this as Virola sebifera and the other site listed it with the common name of baboen (which is another name for virola) and gave the botanical name as Virola surinamensis and I have no confidence that EITHER of them is correct. It is this kind of blatant lack of accuracy on the internet that led me to start this web site in the first place.


veneer