Jatobá-Mirim

Scientific name: Hymenaea parvifolia

Overview

Jatobá-Mirim is a tropical South American hardwood belonging to the Fabaceae family and the Hymenaea genus. Hymenaea parvifolia is native to northern South America, particularly Brazil and portions of the Amazon region.

The heartwood generally ranges from golden brown and orange-brown to reddish brown, potentially becoming darker and richer with age and exposure. Sapwood is considerably paler and normally contrasts clearly with mature heartwood. Grain is generally straight to interlocked, while texture ranges from medium to moderately coarse.

Like other Hymenaea woods, Jatobá-Mirim can produce hard, heavy, strong timber suitable for furniture, flooring, construction, cabinetry, turning, and other applications requiring durable material. Species-specific commercial information is considerably less extensive than for standard Jatoba, making accurate botanical identification particularly valuable.

Quick Facts

  • Common Name: Jatobá-Mirim
  • Alternate Common Name: Jutaí-Mirim
  • Scientific Name: Hymenaea parvifolia
  • Region: South American Woods
  • Tree Size: Medium to large tropical tree; mature dimensions vary according to habitat and growing conditions
  • Average Dried Weight: Reliable standardized species-specific value is not widely documented
  • Janka Hardness: Reliable standardized species-specific value is not widely documented
  • Grain: Straight to interlocked
  • Texture: Medium to moderately coarse

Identification Characteristics

Jatobá-Mirim generally produces golden-brown, orange-brown, or reddish-brown heartwood. Fresh surfaces can appear lighter, while exposure and aging may deepen the coloration toward richer red-brown or darker brown tones.

Sapwood is generally cream to pale yellowish brown and contrasts noticeably with mature heartwood.

Grain is commonly straight but may become interlocked or irregular. Quarter-sawn material can potentially display subtle ribbon-like figure where reversing grain is present.

Key identification traits include:

  • Golden to reddish-brown heartwood
  • Color can deepen with age
  • Pale cream to yellowish sapwood
  • Strong heartwood and sapwood contrast
  • Straight to interlocked grain
  • Medium to moderately coarse texture
  • Moderate natural luster

Working Properties

Jatobá-Mirim can require moderate effort to machine because of its density and potentially interlocked grain.

Sharp cutting tools are recommended. Reversing fibers can cause tear-out during planing and routing, while harder material can increase cutting resistance.

Careful machining followed by progressive sanding can produce an attractive smooth surface.

  • Moderate to high cutting resistance
  • Sharp tools are recommended
  • Interlocked grain may produce tear-out
  • Turns well with appropriate tooling
  • Sands effectively
  • Can take an attractive polish
  • Pre-drilling is recommended for fasteners

Safety Note

Detailed species-specific information concerning reactions to Jatobá-Mirim wood dust is limited. Dust generated during machining of dense tropical hardwoods may cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Effective dust collection, eye protection, and respiratory protection are recommended during sawing, routing, turning, carving, and sanding.

Common Uses

Where suitable material is available, its strength, density, appearance, and wear resistance make Jatobá-Mirim suitable for:

  • Furniture
  • Flooring
  • Cabinetry
  • Interior joinery
  • Construction
  • Architectural millwork
  • Wood turning
  • Carving
  • Decorative woodworking
  • Collector specimens

Sustainability & Notes

Jatobá-Mirim occurs within tropical South American forests, including portions of the Amazon region. These ecosystems contain extraordinary biological diversity and provide globally important habitat, carbon storage, and watershed functions.

An important consideration with Hymenaea timber is accurate identification. Multiple species can produce superficially similar reddish-brown wood and may be traded under overlapping regional names such as Jatoba, Jutaí, or Courbaril.

Responsible forest management, legal harvesting, maintenance of natural regeneration, and traceable sourcing are important whenever acquiring tropical timber.

Species-level identification and geographic provenance substantially improve the value of documented specimens.

Comparative Notes & Related Species

Jatoba – The commercially familiar Hymenaea courbaril, providing the most useful reference point for comparing Jatobá-Mirim with the better-known Jatoba timber.

Curbaril – Hymenaea oblongifolia, another South American member of the genus useful for documenting differences among closely related Jatoba-type woods.

Jatoba-do-Cerrado – Hymenaea stigonocarpa, a Cerrado-associated species that provides an especially useful ecological comparison within the genus.

Related Guides

Wood Families & Trade Groups
Learn how botanical classification, commercial groups, and regional trade names interact and why closely related woods may be sold under overlapping names.

How to Identify Wood by End Grain Patterns
Explore how vessel arrangement, pores, rays, growth boundaries, and other anatomical characteristics can help distinguish hardwood specimens.

Best Woods for Wood Flooring
Compare flooring species based on hardness, wear resistance, stability, grain, appearance, and long-term performance.

Understanding Wood Strength: What Makes Wood Strong?
Learn how density, grain orientation, cellular anatomy, moisture content, and other characteristics influence mechanical performance.

Labeling and Cataloging Wood Samples
Learn how scientific names, geographic origin, acquisition records, specimen dimensions, and provenance should be maintained in a documented wood collection.

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

Jatobá-Mirim belongs to a genus containing several dense and strong tropical hardwoods, but reliable standardized physical-property information specifically for Hymenaea parvifolia is limited.

Density and Janka hardness figures published for commercially familiar Jatoba should not automatically be assigned to Jatobá-Mirim.

Use the Wood Density & Janka Hardness Chart (Complete Comparison Guide) to compare established physical-property values among documented species.

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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.

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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:

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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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