Peltogyne

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Fabaceae
Subfamilia: Detarioideae
Tribus: Detarieae
Genus: Peltogyne
Species: P. altissima – P. angustiflora – P. campestris – P. catingae – P. chrysopis – P. crenulata – P. discolor – P. excelsa – P. floribunda – P. gracilipes – P. heterophylla – P. lecointei – P. maranhensis – P. mattosiana – P. mexicana – P. paniculata – P. paradoxa – P. parvifolia – P. pauciflora – P. prancei – P. purpurea – P. recifensis – P. subsessilis – P. venosa
Source(s) of checklist:

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Peltogyne in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Oct 21. Reference page.

Name

Peltogyne Vogel, 1837
Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Mexico to South America
Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guyana, Mexico Southwest, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Vogel, T., 1837. Linnaea. Ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange 11: 410

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Peltogyne in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Oct 21. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Peltogyne. Published online. Accessed: Oct 21 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Peltogyne. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Oct 21.
Catalogue of Life: 2020 Annual Checklist

Vernacular names
English: Purpleheart
magyar: Amarantfa
日本語: バイオレットウッド
polski: Amarant
中文: （中国大陆）

Peltogyne, commonly known as purpleheart, violet wood, amaranth and other local names (often referencing the colour of the wood) is a genus of 23 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae; native to tropical rainforests of Central and South America; from Guerrero, Mexico, through Central America, and as far as south-eastern Brazil.[2]

They are medium-sized to large trees growing to 30–50 m (100–160 ft) tall, with trunk diameters of up to 1.5 m (5 ft). The leaves are alternate, divided into a symmetrical pair of large leaflets 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and 2–4 cm (1–2 in) broad. The flowers are small, with five white petals, produced in panicles. The fruit is a pod containing a single seed. The timber is desirable, but difficult to work.

Distribution

The species of the genus range from southeastern Brazil through northern South America, Panama, Costa Rica, and Trinidad, with the majority of species in the Amazon Basin. P. mexicana is a geographic outlier, native to the Mexican state of Guerrero.[2] Overharvesting has caused several species to become endangered in areas where they were once abundant.[3]
Wood

The trees are prized for their beautiful heartwood which, when cut, quickly turns from a light brown to a rich purple color. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light darkens the wood to a brown color with a slight hue of the original purple.[4] This effect can be minimized with a finish containing a UV inhibitor. The dry timber is very hard, stiff, and dense with a specific gravity of 0.86 (860 kg/m3 or 54 lb/cu ft). Purpleheart is correspondingly difficult to work with.[5] It is very durable and water-resistant.
Uses and hazards

Purpleheart is prized for use in fine inlay work especially on musical instruments, guitar fret boards (although rarely), woodturning, cabinetry, flooring, and furniture. It is also used in many hobby woodworking projects, such as bottle stoppers, pens, bowls, knife scales and jewelry boxes.[6] The timber is also valuable in applications that require toughness, such as truck decking.[7]

Purpleheart presents a number of challenges in the woodshop. Its hard-to-detect interlocking grain makes hand-planing, chiseling and working with carving tools a challenge. However, woodturners can note that with sharp tools, it turns clean, and sands well.[6]

Exposure to the dust generated by cutting and sanding purpleheart can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation and nausea,[6] possibly because of the presence of dalbergione (neoflavonoid) compounds in the wood. This also makes purpleheart wood unsuitable to most people for use in jewelry.[8] Purpleheart is also a fairly expensive wood, which is why it is usually used in smaller-scale projects.[9]
Species

The following list of species is according to Plants of the World Online.[10]

Peltogyne altissima Ducke
Peltogyne angustiflora Ducke
Peltogyne campestris Ducke
Peltogyne catingae Ducke
Peltogyne chrysopis Barneby
Peltogyne crenulata Afr.Fern.
Peltogyne discolor Vogel
Peltogyne excelsa Ducke
Peltogyne floribunda (Kunth) Pittier
Peltogyne gracilipes Ducke
Peltogyne heterophylla M.F.Silva
Peltogyne lecointei Ducke
Peltogyne maranhensis Ducke
Peltogyne mattosiana Rizzini
Peltogyne mexicana Martinez
Peltogyne paniculata Benth.
Peltogyne paradoxa Ducke
Peltogyne parvifolia Benth.
Peltogyne pauciflora Benth.
Peltogyne prancei M.F.Silva
Peltogyne purpurea Pittier
Peltogyne recifensis Ducke
Peltogyne subsessilis W.A.Rodrigues
Peltogyne venosa (M.Vahl) Benth.

References

R. C. Barneby (1983). "(711)-(712) Proposals to conserve Plathymenia against Echyrospermum and Peltogyne against Orectospermum (Leguminosae)". Taxon. 32 (3): 488–490. doi:10.2307/1221525. JSTOR 1221525.
Sotuyo Vázquez, Jeny Solange (2014). "El palo morado (Peltogyne mexicana), una leguminosa maderable con futuro incierto y parientes lejanos". Revista Digital Universitaria (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. 15 (4). ISSN 1607-6079.
"Purpleheart - Peltogyne - Madera Sudamerica -Consorcio forestal". Maderasdesudamerica.com.
"PURPLEHEART-PELTOGYNE".
Garnet Hall (February 2006). The Art of Intarsia: Projects & Patterns. Tamos Books, Incorporated. pp. 16–. ISBN 978-1-895569-75-9.
"WoodSense: Spotlight on Purpleheart". www.woodcraft.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
"Purpleheart Wood".
Peltogyne in BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database
Atrops, J.L. (1970). Strength Properties of Trinidadian Timbers. University of the West Indies. OCLC 763016897.

Peltogyne in POWO; last accessed 10 April 2021

"Peltogyne". LegumeWeb. International Legume Database.
Virtual Flora of Guyana: Peltogyne herbarium photos[permanent dead link]
"Peltogyne purpurea". Especies de Costa Rica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-09-26.
Baker, Mark (2004). Wood for Woodturners. Sussex: Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications. ISBN 1-86108-324-6.