''Peltogyne mexicana'' is a species of tree that belongs to the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. Members of the genus ''Peltogyne'' are commonly known in different regions as purpleheart, morao, nazareno, violeta, pau roxo, or palo morado. The genus ''Peltogyne'' is

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

and is made up of 23 species. ''Peltogyne mexicana'' occurs in

Guerrero, Mexico Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

, and is one of the northernmost species in the genus. Many of the vernacular names derive from the characteristic of the color of the wood, which is unusually purple in the center. The coloration darkens and intensifies with exposure to air and

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

(UV) light; if it is put in water for a few hours, the purple color changes to intense black. ''Peltogyne mexicana'' is considered a precious wood.

Classification and description

The flowers are grouped in inflorescences, from 5 to 8 cm, with peduncles and densely ferruginous-pubescent pedicels. The flowers are white, aromatic, 8 mm in diameter, with the surface covered with beautiful whitish; with four sepals of which only three are visible outside the button, slightly violet or chestnut colored, 3 mm; with five elliptical petals 5 mm long by 2 to 2.5 wide; with 10 stamens, of which five are greater than 7 mm and alternate with the others (5 to 6 mm), are all fertile, with white filaments. The fruit is oblique, compressed, from 3 to 4 cm, with the apex rounded. It is usually covered by a kind of very sticky sap. It flowers in August and is pollinated by insects.

Distribution and environment

This tree was reported as a new botanical species by Maximino Martínez in 1960. The distribution of ''P. mexicana'' is in Guerrero, Mexico. ''P. mexicana'' is a geographic outlier, with most other members of the genus found in South America.

Wood

This species is prized for its beautiful

heartwood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

which, when cut, quickly turns from a light

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

to a rich

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...

color. Exposure to

(UV) light darkens the wood to a brown color with a slight hue of the original purple. This effect can be minimized by treating cut wood with a finish or sealant containing a UV inhibitor. The dry timber is very hard, stiff, and dense with a

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water (molecule), wa ...

of 0.86 (). Purpleheart is correspondingly difficult to work with.

Uses and hazards

Purpleheart is prized for use in fine

inlay Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...

work, especially on musical instruments, guitar fret boards,

woodturning Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator ...

cabinetry A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

, flooring, and

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

. The timber is also valuable in applications that require toughness, such as

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

decking. Exposure to the dust, generated by cutting and sanding purpleheart, can cause irritation and nausea, possibly due to the presence of dalbergione (neoflavonoid) compounds in the wood, limiting purpleheart's use for crafts. Purpleheart is also a fairly expensive wood, which is why it is usually used in smaller-scale projects.

State of conservation

This species has a category of

Endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

(A) according to NOM-059-ECOL-2010, caused in part by overexploitation and deforestation and compounded by its slow growth.

Gallery

File:Purpleheart wood.jpg, Example of ''P. mexicana'' heartwood

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15541575 Flora of Mexico Flora of Guerrero Flora of North America Detarioideae