Common Name: Cow-wood
Scientific Name: Bagassa guianensis
Wood Description: Cow-wood is an olive-brown to blackish, oily with coarse texture. The grains are irregular and the wood is hard and very durable underground. However, it perishes easily above ground and difficult to work.
Physical Properties: The heartwood is bright yellow when freshly cut, often with darker streaks, which darkens to a lustrous golden brown to reddish-brown upon exposure. The sapwood is narrow and pale yellow to white. It is a heavy wood, with an air-dry density of approximately 795-800 kg/m3. The grain is usually interlocked, creating a striped appearance on radial surfaces, with a medium to coarse texture. Highly durable and resistant to fungi and termite attacks. It is also moderately resistant to marine borers.
Mechanical Properties: A heavy wood with an air-dry density averaging approximately 800 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. Hardness of approximately 1,720–1,730 lbf for dry wood. Once seasoned, it is stable in service. It has exceptionally low volumetric shrinkage for its density (around 9.6% to 10.2%), which is attributed to its high extractive content.
Uses: Cow-wood is ideal for heavy construction, exterior decking, cabinetwork, shipbuilding (planking and ribs), flooring, and furniture.