Guácimo Colorado
Scientific name: Luehea seemannii
Overview
Guácimo Colorado is a tropical hardwood native to Mexico, Central America, and portions of northern South America. Luehea seemannii belongs to the Malvaceae family and occurs in tropical forests from southern Mexico through much of Central America, making it a useful addition to the Central American Woods collection.
The wood generally ranges from pale brown and yellowish brown to medium reddish brown, sometimes developing warmer golden or pinkish tones. Sapwood is typically lighter and may be distinguishable from the mature heartwood. Grain is generally straight to interlocked, while texture ranges from medium to moderately coarse.
Guácimo Colorado is a moderately weighted, workable timber used regionally for furniture, cabinetry, interior construction, boxes, general carpentry, and utility woodworking. Although much less familiar internationally than many major Central American hardwoods, it represents an important component of the region’s diverse native timber flora.
Quick Facts
- Common Name: Guácimo Colorado
- Alternate Common Names: Guácimo, Guácimo Rojo
- Scientific Name: Luehea seemannii
- Region: Central American Woods
- Tree Size: Approximately 50–100 ft (15–30 m) tall, with mature dimensions varying according to habitat and growing conditions
- Average Dried Weight: Approximately 35–45 lbs/ft³ (560–720 kg/m³), with natural variation
- Janka Hardness: Reliable standardized species-specific values are not consistently documented
- Grain: Straight to interlocked
- Texture: Medium to moderately coarse
Identification Characteristics
Guácimo Colorado generally produces pale yellowish-brown to medium reddish-brown heartwood. Mature material can develop warmer golden, pinkish-brown, or deeper reddish tones with age.
Sapwood is generally cream to pale yellow and contrasts moderately with mature heartwood.
Grain is commonly straight but can become interlocked or irregular. Interlocked sections may produce subtle ribbon-like figure on quarter-sawn surfaces.
Key identification traits include:
- Pale yellowish to reddish-brown heartwood
- Occasional golden or pinkish tones
- Cream to pale yellow sapwood
- Moderate heartwood and sapwood contrast
- Straight to interlocked grain
- Medium to moderately coarse texture
- Moderate natural luster
Working Properties
Guácimo Colorado generally has favorable woodworking characteristics and can be machined effectively with conventional hand and power tools.
Straight-grained material typically cuts and planes cleanly. Interlocked sections require additional care because reversing fibers may produce localized tear-out.
The wood generally sands, glues, and finishes satisfactorily.
- Machines reasonably well
- Sharp tools improve surface quality
- Interlocked grain may cause tear-out
- Turns reasonably well
- Sands effectively
- Glues satisfactorily
- Accepts stains and clear finishes
Safety Note
Detailed species-specific information concerning reactions to Guácimo Colorado wood dust is limited. Hardwood dust generated during machining may cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.
Appropriate dust collection, eye protection, and respiratory protection are recommended during sawing, routing, turning, carving, and sanding.
Common Uses
Its moderate density, attractive coloration, and general workability make Guácimo Colorado suitable for regional applications including:
- Furniture
- Cabinetry
- Interior joinery
- General construction
- Boxes and crates
- Paneling
- Carpentry
- Furniture components
- Wood turning
- Utility woodworking
Sustainability & Notes
Guácimo Colorado occurs naturally across Mexico and Central America and extends into northern South America. It grows within several types of tropical forest and can occur in both mature and regenerating vegetation.
Like many lesser-known regional woods, its importance is not limited to timber. Living trees contribute to forest structure, wildlife habitat, soil protection, and overall biological diversity.
Responsible forestry, natural regeneration, habitat conservation, and traceable sourcing help maintain native populations while allowing appropriate timber use.
Because Guácimo is a regional name applied to more than one tree species, scientific identification is especially important when documenting wood.
Comparative Notes & Related Species
Guacimo – A different Central American tree that shares the Guácimo common name, making it particularly useful for demonstrating why scientific identification matters.
Primavera – A Central American furniture and interior woodworking species providing a useful comparison in color, workability, and regional applications.
Palo Blanco – A Central American hardwood with lighter coloration used for furniture and general woodworking, providing another useful regional comparison.
Related Guides
Wood Families & Trade Groups
Learn how scientific classification and regional trade names interact and why unrelated species may share the same common name.
Identifying Unknown Wood Samples
Explore how color, grain, texture, density, pores, rays, end grain, and geographic origin can help identify unfamiliar wood specimens.
Understanding Interlocked vs. Straight Grain
Learn how grain orientation affects appearance, machining behavior, strength, tear-out, and finished surface quality.
Drying & Acclimating Exotic Woods
Learn how controlled drying and proper acclimation can reduce checking, distortion, warping, and moisture-related problems before woodworking.
How to Start a Wood Collection
Learn how to build a geographically and botanically diverse collection while preserving scientific identification and provenance.
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
Guácimo Colorado is particularly useful for collectors because its regional common name can easily cause confusion with unrelated species.
A positively identified Luehea seemannii specimen with documented geographic origin therefore provides substantially greater educational value than material labeled simply Guácimo.
Collector specimens should retain the scientific name, geographic origin, acquisition date, source, and any supporting identification information.
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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.
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