Sucupira Preta
Scientific name: Diplotropis purpurea
Overview
Sucupira Preta is a dense tropical hardwood native to northern South America, particularly the Amazon Basin and surrounding regions. Diplotropis purpurea belongs to the Fabaceae family and is valued for its dark coloration, strength, durability, and distinctive grain. The Portuguese name “preta,” meaning black or dark, reflects the deeper brown coloration commonly associated with the heartwood.
The heartwood generally ranges from medium brown to dark chocolate brown, often displaying reddish, purplish, or nearly black streaks. Pale sapwood creates a strong contrast with the darker heartwood. Grain is typically interlocked or irregular, while texture ranges from medium to coarse.
Sucupira Preta is a heavy, hard-wearing timber suitable for demanding applications such as flooring, furniture, cabinetry, heavy construction, exterior joinery, and decorative woodworking. Its combination of durability, strength, and dramatic appearance also makes it an attractive species for collectors.
Quick Facts
- Common Name: Sucupira Preta
- Alternate Common Name(s): Sucupira, Black Sucupira
- Scientific Name: Diplotropis purpurea
- Region: South American Hardwoods
- Tree Size: Approximately 80–120 ft (24–37 m) tall, with trunks potentially reaching 2–4 ft (0.6–1.2 m) in diameter
- Average Dried Weight: Approximately 55–60 lbs/ft³ (880–960 kg/m³)
- Janka Hardness: Approximately 2,500 lbf, with published values varying by source and material
- Grain: Interlocked to irregular
- Texture: Medium to coarse
Identification Characteristics
Sucupira Preta typically produces medium to very dark brown heartwood, frequently containing reddish-brown, purplish-brown, or nearly black streaks. Color tends to become richer and more uniform as the wood ages.
Sapwood is usually pale cream to yellowish brown and is clearly differentiated from the darker heartwood. Grain is commonly interlocked, which can create attractive ribbon-like or striped figure on quarter-sawn surfaces.
Key identification traits include:
- Medium brown to dark chocolate-brown heartwood
- Reddish, purplish, or nearly black streaking
- Pale cream to yellowish-brown sapwood
- Strong heartwood and sapwood contrast
- Interlocked to irregular grain
- Medium to coarse texture
- Moderate natural luster
Working Properties
Sucupira Preta can be challenging to machine because of its density, hardness, and frequently interlocked grain. Sharp carbide tooling is recommended, particularly for planing, routing, and profiling.
Interlocked grain can cause tear-out, while the wood’s hardness can increase cutting resistance and accelerate tool wear. Despite these challenges, properly machined material sands and finishes attractively and can produce extremely durable finished surfaces
- Difficult to machine compared with lighter hardwoods
- Sharp carbide tools are recommended
- Interlocked grain can cause tear-out
- Turns well with appropriate tooling
- Sands to a smooth surface
- Good wear resistance
- Pre-drilling is recommended for screws and nails
Safety Note
Detailed species-specific information regarding reactions to Sucupira Preta wood dust is limited. Dust from dense tropical hardwoods may cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation in sensitive individuals.
Effective dust collection, eye protection, and respiratory protection are recommended during sawing, routing, turning, and sanding.
Common Uses
Its exceptional hardness, strength, durability, and attractive dark coloration make Sucupira Preta suitable for numerous woodworking applications, including:
- Flooring
- Furniture
- Cabinetry
- Heavy construction
- Interior joinery
- Exterior joinery
- Architectural millwork
- Wood turning
- Decorative woodworking
- Specialty projects
Sustainability & Notes
Sucupira Preta is harvested from tropical South American forests, making legal sourcing, forest management, and supply-chain transparency important considerations.
As with many Amazonian hardwoods, timber may be sold under regional trade names that can encompass more than one botanical species. Buyers and collectors should therefore retain scientific identification whenever reliable documentation is available.
Responsibly managed forests, certified timber, and traceable supply chains are preferable when sourcing this dense tropical hardwood.
Comparative Notes & Related Species
Sucupira Amarela – A related trade wood generally displaying lighter coloration and providing a useful comparison with the much darker heartwood associated with Sucupira Preta.
Cumaru – Another very dense South American hardwood prized for flooring, exterior applications, durability, and exceptional wear resistance.
Angelim Vermelho – A heavy Amazonian hardwood valued for structural applications and durability, providing a useful comparison with the strength and density of Sucupira Preta.
Related Guides
Machining Dense Tropical Hardwoods
Learn how tool selection, cutting angles, feed rates, and machining techniques can improve results when working with exceptionally hard and dense tropical timbers.
Preventing Tear-Out in Interlocked Grain
Explore techniques for reducing torn grain when planing, routing, and surfacing woods with interlocked or reversing fibers.
Best Woods for Wood Flooring
Compare woods used for flooring based on hardness, wear resistance, dimensional stability, appearance, and long-term performance.
Density & Hardness Explained (Janka Scale Guide)
Learn how density and Janka hardness measure different wood properties and how each affects machining, weight, dent resistance, and performance.
Understanding Interlocked vs. Straight Grain
Explore how grain orientation influences figure, machining characteristics, strength, surface quality, and finished appearance.
Compare Wood Properties
See how this species ranks in density and hardness using our Wood Density & Janka Hardness Chart. You can also explore Hardest Woods, Softest Woods, and Most Dense Woods for quick comparisons.
Collector Notes
Share Your Photos of This Species
Do you have lumber, wood samples, tree photographs, woodworking projects, furniture, carvings, turnings, musical instruments, or other items made from this species?
Exotic Woods of the World welcomes photographs from woodworkers, collectors, sawyers, researchers, and wood enthusiasts around the world. Selected submissions may be featured on this page and throughout our website to help document and showcase real-world examples of this species.
When submitting photos, please include the common name, scientific name (if known), a brief description, and any information you would like us to share with the image.
Wood Sample Collection
This species is part of an ongoing effort to document and preserve wood samples from around the world.
Learn more about contributing to the collection:
Resources
Authoritative botanical and forestry references used in compiling information about this species include:
• USDA Forest Service – Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material
https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/products/publications/
• The Wood Database – Global reference for wood identification, physical properties, and woodworking characteristics
https://www.wood-database.com/
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – Plants of the World Online – Botanical taxonomy and species distribution database
https://powo.science.kew.org/
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Red List) – Global conservation status assessments
https://www.iucnredlist.org/
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – International trade regulations for protected plant species
https://cites.org/
Additional forestry publications, academic research papers, and regional timber studies may also be referenced where available.
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Availability & Where to Buy
Exotic hardwood availability can vary significantly depending on region, sustainability regulations, and supplier inventory.
As this archive grows, recommended suppliers and specialty wood retailers will be listed here to help woodworkers locate responsibly sourced material.
Lumber Suppliers:
Availability varies — see the Where to Buy Exotic Woods page for current sources.
Related Tools & Products:
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