Saturday, May 12, 2007

Cedar (Cedrela odorata)

Brazilian cedar (Cedrela odorata) has many of the same qualities as mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). The lumber is a relatively light, it's resistant to insects and it keeps its fragrance for several years after being crafted. Carpenters love cedar because they can drive nails into it without having to drill holes first. Another similarity to mahogany is that it can take on a deep, long lasting stain. Like mahogany, Cedar is an endangered species. I've planted several cedar trees at Bosque Santa Lúcia but I lost some to the power line construction mentioned earlier. I came by the seeds from a tree in front of the rubber processing plant at the old Ford Motor Company rubber tree plantation in Belterra. Others I collected from two trees, which used to stand at Didi Macedo's place in Mararu. The ones you see supporting the wood sample are at the entrance to the Bosque. They are about 5 years old. During the dry season the trees lose all their leaves.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was writing a commentary for an anthropology class on the Canela and I wanted to find urucu. There you were. Kudos to you for your courageous and adventurous self. If you get a chance to read fiction or ever want to...Amazonia by James Rollins and ANY of Doug Preston/Lincoln Child. Thank you for the great resource.