Black bean
Scientific Name: Castanospermum australe. Family: Leguminosae
Common Names: Beantree, Blackbean
Distribution: Scattered throughout rainforest Southeast Asia, Australia, New Caledonia.Vanuatu and Fiji.
Janka Hardness: Color/Appearance Appearances: Heartwood ranges from dark brown to chocolate shades, deepening to almost black; sometimes streaked with lighter bands. Sapwood is white to yellow.
Grain: Porous and coarse. Striated vessel lines are prominent on longitudinal surfaces, due to chalky, soft grey tissue (parenchyma) surrounding the vessels.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Common Uses: General house framing, flooring, lining, moldings and joinery, plywood, furniture, shop and office fixtures. Joinery, turnery, carving, inlay work.
Gunstocks, and knife handles.