Present and Potential Commercial Timbers of The Caribbean With Special Reference to • The West Indies • The Guianas • And British Honduras Agriculture Handbook No. 207 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Present and Potential Commercial Timbers of The Caribbean With Special Reference to • The West Indies • The Guianas • And British Honduras by Franklin R. Long\vood Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service; formerly at the Tropical Forest Research Center of the Forest Service in Puerto Rico. Agriculture Handbook No. 207 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Washington, D.C. March 1962 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author is indebted to Dr. B. Francis Kukachka, U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis., for his assistance in preparing the timber descrip- tions, and to Dr. Elbert L. Little, Jr., Forest Service Dendrologist, for his exhaustive check and verification of the common and scientific names and geographical distribution of the timbers and his thorough review of the text and tabular material. CONTENTS Page Page Introduction 1 Kopie 69 Selection of important Caribbean timbers 2 Kurokai 70 Nomenclature 4 Kwarie 72 Distribution and habitat 4 Lignumvitae 73 Tree descriptions 4 Magnolia 75 Description of the wood 5 Mahoe 76 Weight and specific gravity 5 Honduras mahogany 76 Seasoning 8 West Indies mahogany 79 Shrinkage and movement 10 Manbarklak 81 Strength properties 12 Manni 82 Working properties 13 Manniballi 84 Resistance to decay 14 Marblewood 85 Resistance to attack by termites and other Mora 86- insects 15 Nargusta 88 Resistance to marine borers 17 Pakuri 90 Permeability 18 Parakusan 92 Wood uses 20 Caribbean pine 92 Supply 20 Podocarp 95 Timber Descriptions 27 Purpleheart 96 Angelin 27 Résolu 99 Angélique 28 Roble 99 Aromata 30 Honduras rosewood 101 Baboen and banak 30 Saman 102 Bagasse 33 Santa-maria 104 Balata 34 Sara 106 Balsa 36 Simarouba 107 Baromalli 38 Snakewood 108 Bethabara 39 Sterculia HO Bois gris 41 Suradan 112 Broadleaf 42 White tabebuia 114 BuUhoof 43 Tatabu 115 Bustic 44 Tauroniro 116 Central American cedar 45 Teak US Courbaril 47 Tonka 120 Crabwood 49 Wacapou 121 Dakama 52 Wallaba 123 Determa 53 Wamara 125 Dukali 54 Yemeri 126 Encens 55 Yoke wood 128 Gommier 55 Bibliography 1^1 Demerara greenheart 57 Appendix ^^^ Gronfoeloe 60 Table 10.—Strength properties of Caribbean Gumbo-limbo 62 timbers in the green condition 140 Haiari 63 Table 11.—Strength properties of Caribbean Hura 64 timbers in the air-dry condition 148 Inyak 65 Table 12.—Maximum allowable stresses for Kauta, kautaballi, marish 66 tropical timbers under different circumstances. 156 Kereti silverballi 68 Index to the timbers 1^^ ni Present and Potential Commercial Timbers of The Caribbean INTRODUCTION The steady improvement of social and economic proportion of the softwood lumber imports is com- conditions in the Caribbean countries has brought ing from within the Caribbean region. Neverthe- about a comparable increase in the consumption of less, the volume of the softwood resources is so timber and other wood products. Although the limited that the bulk of future requirements will Caribbean region includes many millions of acres have to be supplied from the outside, largely from of forests containing untold billions of cubic feet the United States. of timber, most of the increased demand is met In British Honduras the pine industry has by imports from outside the region. Softwoods reached its full development, and further expan- are imported principally from the United States ; sion must be based on the utilization of lesser hardwoods, from Europe, Africa, and the Philip- known timbers. In fact, the best pine stands in pines. Many hundred, even thousands of different Central America are being consumed so rapidly timbers are available in the Caribbean forests; that a sharp decline is predicted within the next many of them are qualified for the uses filled by two or three decades. But in the Guianas the imported timbers, yet the intra-Caribbean trade volume of exportable timbers is increasing with in this commodity is limited to a few species. The advancement in the timber production industry. present wood consumption in a large part of the In this area, vast tracts of unexploited hardwood region consists mainly of imported softwood (co- forests remain untouched. niferous) species for construction work and a lim- Many hundreds, even thousands, of different ited use of homegrown hardwoods (broadleaf ) for woods are available in the forests of the Carib- furniture, construction, posts, and fuel. bean countries. Yet the local commençai produc- Hardwood timber is, in general, plentiful tion and utilization and the exportation of timbers throughout the continental area of the Caribbean from the area over the past 300 years, and even and on a number of the Wçst Indies islands. But today, are confined to a relatively few of these some areas, including Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bar- woods. Less than twenty timbers are of impor- bados, and some of the smaller islands of the tance in the present export market. Consequently, Lesser Antilles, are handicapped by a scarcity of many of the smaller islands and Central American both hardwood and softwood species. countries import and use softwood timbers where The coniferous resources of the region are indigenous hardwood species would be satisfac- largely confined to British Honduras, Honduras, tory. Also, many local hardwood timbers, if well Nicaragua, and Mexico on the continent, and to a manufactured and if properly marketed in quan- limited supply in Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Repub- tity, could Satisfy similar needs in other countries lic, and the Bahamas in the West Indies. Except- in the region. ing British Honduras, all Caribbean countries are Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that importers of softwood timber, though British among the immense number of unused timbers Guiana's requirements are nearly met by local are many with qualities equal or superior to the hardwoods. The Caribbean area is considered in relatively few native hardwood timbers presently this work to include the three Guianas and the accepted. Some probably possess outstanding northern part of Venezuela and Colombia, Central beauty, durability, resistance to insects or marine America, southern Mexico, the southern tip of organisms, or have such high strength properties Florida, and the West Indies from Cuba and the that they would be readily accepted by the local Bahamas to Trinidad and Tobago. An increasing and export trade. 1 U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 207 In view of the expanding market and the un- Countries represented in the selection of tim- certainty of the present resources of the small bers are as follows : British Guiana, French Gui- number of timbers being utilized, the need for ana, Surinam, and British Honduras on the using the lesser known species is of first impor- continent; Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and tance. This applies both to the areas having abun- Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles; Guadeloupe, dant timber supplies and to the islands having Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, insufficient forest reserves, yet many unused Grenada, Trinidad, and Tobago in the Lesser An- timbers. tilles. Although Chiba and Haiti are not included Lack of knowledge, particularly by the con- in this group, they are well represented by the sumer, seems the principal deterrent to the utiliza- selections made for other islands in the Greater tion of lesser known woods. Needed is informa- Antilles. But important timbers in other parts tion on physical and mechanical properties, as well of the Caribbean area are not discussed in detail as knowledge of air seasoning, kiln drying, dura- unless they are also presently or potentially im- bility, machining characteristics, and resistance to portant in the above countries or islands. insects and marine organisms. Prospective users The conference by resolution directed the should also have the benefit of reliable recom- Secretariat of the Caribbean Commission to ask mendations on the acceptable uses for the different the Tropical Forest Research Center of the U.S. timbers and an estimate of their present and po- Forest Service for assistance in the project. In tential availability. answer to that request, this publication was pre- In view of the above considerations, the Fourth pared. It presents, to the best of the author's Session of the West Indian Conference held in knowledge, a summary of all available and worth- 1950 recommended that a future conference be while information on the 71 important timbers in convened to consider the agricultural potentiali- that part of the Caribbean area described above. ties of the Caribbean area, with special reference to developing the timber trade. Later, the objec- SELECTION OF IMPORTANT tive was restricted to a study of the present and CARIBBEAN TIMBERS potential timber trade. The conference, held at Port of Spain, Trinidad, in April 1953, was at- Foresters and other representatives of the Gov- tended by representatives from most countries and ernment attending the 1953 Timber Conference in islands of the Caribbean area. Port of Spain, Trinidad, selected an initial list of Conference delegates agreed on the need for 54 timbers of present or potential commercial im- compiling and publishing a list of the timbers of portance. The number was later increased to 71 present and potential regional importance. They as additional timbers were suggested. This num- also agreed that this document should cover the ber will surely increase in the years ahead : Remote entire Caribbean, including the independent re- areas will become more accessible to improved mar- publics, and should contain all available informa- kets, and further studies will be made of the tion on the selected timbers. The principal tim- quantity and quality of many woods, currently bers described in the text were selected largely little known. The final selection of timbers cov- by member countries of the Caribbean Commis- ered in this work and the species chosen are es- sion and do not necessarily include all timbers of sentially as suggested by the participating present or potential importance in the entire governments.