Pau Roxo do Campo
Scientific name: Peltogyne campestris
Overview
Pau Roxo do Campo is a South American hardwood belonging to the Fabaceae family and the Peltogyne genus, the botanical group responsible for the woods collectively known as Purpleheart. Peltogyne campestris is native to Brazil and represents another distinct species within this diverse group of naturally colored hardwoods.
As with other Peltogyne species, freshly exposed heartwood may initially appear brownish, reddish brown, grayish, or only faintly violet. Exposure to air and light promotes the development of stronger purple coloration. With continued aging and ultraviolet exposure, vivid violet and purple tones can gradually deepen toward dark purple, purplish brown, or brown.
The wood is generally dense, hard, and strong, with grain ranging from straight to interlocked. Its natural coloration and ability to take a smooth polished surface make it particularly interesting for decorative furniture, turning, inlay, carving, boxes, handles, and collector specimens.
Quick Facts
- Common Name: Pau Roxo do Campo
- Alternate Common Names: Pau-Roxo, Roxinho, Purpleheart
- Scientific Name: Peltogyne campestris
- Region: South American Woods
- Tree Size: Medium to large hardwood; 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: Fine to medium
Identification Characteristics
Pau Roxo do Campo is most readily recognized by the color transformation associated with its heartwood.
Freshly cut material may initially show brown, reddish-brown, grayish, or muted violet coloration. After exposure to oxygen and light, stronger violet and purple tones can develop.
Long-term exposure can eventually darken the wood toward deep violet, purplish brown, or brown. Sapwood is generally cream to pale yellowish brown and contrasts strongly with the colored heartwood.
Key identification traits include:
- Brown to reddish freshly exposed heartwood
- Purple coloration develops after exposure
- Violet to deep purple mature surfaces
- Older surfaces may become purplish brown
- Pale cream to yellowish sapwood
- Strong heartwood and sapwood contrast
- Straight to interlocked grain
- Fine to medium texture
Working Properties
Pau Roxo do Campo can be challenging to machine because of its density, hardness, and potentially interlocked grain.
Sharp cutting tools are important, and carbide tooling can be beneficial during repeated machining. Reversing grain can produce tear-out during planing and routing.
Heat generated through excessive friction should be minimized. Light cutting passes and careful attention to grain direction generally improve results.
- High cutting resistance
- Sharp tooling is recommended
- Carbide tools can be beneficial
- Interlocked grain may cause tear-out
- Turns well with appropriate equipment
- Sands and polishes attractively
- Pre-drilling is recommended for fasteners
Safety Note
Wood dust from Purpleheart species may cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation in sensitive individuals. Repeated exposure may increase sensitivity in some woodworkers.
Effective dust extraction, respiratory protection, eye protection, and appropriate skin protection are recommended during sawing, routing, turning, carving, and sanding.
Common Uses
Its unusual coloration, density, hardness, and decorative potential make Pau Roxo do Campo suitable for applications including:
- Decorative furniture
- Cabinetry
- Furniture accents
- Inlay
- Wood turning
- Carving
- Decorative boxes
- Handles
- Small specialty objects
- Collector specimens
Sustainability & Notes
Pau Roxo do Campo demonstrates an important issue surrounding the Purpleheart timber trade: Purpleheart is not a single botanical species.
Multiple members of Peltogyne can produce purple-colored heartwood and may enter commercial markets under the same general trade name. A board sold simply as Purpleheart therefore cannot automatically be identified as Peltogyne campestris.
For lesser-known members of the genus, scientific identification and geographic provenance are particularly valuable.
Legal harvesting, responsible forest management, habitat protection, natural regeneration, and traceable supply chains should be prioritized when sourcing tropical hardwoods.
Comparative Notes & Related Species
Muirabi – Peltogyne discolor, another individually documented Purpleheart species whose wood develops characteristic violet and purple coloration after exposure.
Pau Roxo da Vargem – Peltogyne densiflora, providing another species-level comparison within the Purpleheart genus.
Catinga Purpleheart – Peltogyne catingae, another Brazilian member of the group useful for demonstrating the diversity hidden behind the Purpleheart trade name.
Related Guides
Purpleheart Species Guide
Explore the individual Peltogyne species represented within the Purpleheart group and compare their distribution, appearance, identification, and wood characteristics.
How to Identify Exotic Hardwood by Grain Pattern
Learn how grain orientation, texture, figure, coloration, rays, and other visible characteristics can help identify unfamiliar hardwood specimens.
Understanding Wood Shrinkage Values Explained
Explore radial, tangential, and volumetric shrinkage and learn how these measurements relate to drying behavior and dimensional stability.
Gluing Exotic Woods: Challenges and Solutions
Learn how density, natural extractives, moisture content, surface preparation, and adhesive selection can influence glue performance in exotic hardwoods.
How to Store Exotic Wood Samples
Learn how light exposure, moisture, temperature, handling, and storage conditions can affect the long-term condition and coloration of documented specimens.
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
Pau Roxo do Campo is particularly valuable as a collector specimen when its botanical identity can be documented confidently.
Commercial Purpleheart is frequently identified only by its trade name, so an authenticated Peltogyne campestris sample has greater botanical and educational value.
Maintaining photographs of a freshly surfaced specimen and the same sample after controlled periods of exposure can also provide a useful record of its color development.
Collector material should retain the scientific name, geographic origin, acquisition date, source, and supporting identification information.
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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.
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.
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