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Platymiscium dimorphandrum
Hormigo
The wood behind the marimba's signature sound — a bright red, richly striped hardwood long favored by indigenous instrument makers across Mesoamerica.
View Selected InventoryAbout Hormigo
Hormigo is best known as one of the most widely used woods for marimba keys among indigenous groups in southern Mexico and Central America — prized not just for its color, but for its distinctive tone. Heartwood runs bright red, reddish, or purplish-brown, streaked and often waxy in the darker boards, while the straight-to-interlocked grain carries a medium texture and natural high gloss that only deepens after finish sanding, sometimes revealing a striking chatoyance. It's not a difficult wood to work — it machines and turns cleanly with sharp tools and takes an excellent, highly polishable finish. Heartwood is highly resistant to both brown and white rot fungi as well as drywood termites, which has helped it hold up in furniture, doors, floors, and general joinery for generations. Beyond woodworking, it carries a curious secondary history: it's been tested for medicinal use in denaturing snake venoms, including that of the fer-de-lance.
At a glance
- Granadillo
- Hormiga
- Rosadillo
- Palo Marimba
At a glance
- Origin
- Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Gulf of Mexico, Northeast Mexico, Southeast Mexico, Southwest Mexico
- Category
- Flooring · Musical Instruments
- Best for
- Musical instruments (especially marimbas), furniture, ornaments, doors, floors, general joinery
- Working properties
- Not difficult to work. Achieves an excellent finish with smooth, highly polishable surfaces. Natural chatoyance often emerges after finish sanding.
Spec sheet
Physical-mechanical properties
Physical-mechanical values for Hormigo from the approved Final Content document.
Density
660 kg/mu00b3
MOE Flex u2014 Elastic Modulus
126480 kg/cmu00b2
RLE Flex u2014 Elastic Resistance Limit
640 kg/cmu00b2
RR Flex u2014 Rupture Resistance
997 kg/cmu00b2
PMOE Com for u2014 Elastic Modulus, Compression Parallel
130225 kg/cmu00b2
PRLE Com for u2014 Elastic Resistance Limit, Compression Parallel
271 kg/cmu00b2
RR Com for u2014 Rupture Resistance
528 kg/cmu00b2
RLE Com for u2014 Elastic Resistance Limit, Perpendicular Compression
528 kg/cmu00b2
RR Shear for u2014 Rupture Resistance, Parallel Shear
528 kg/cmu00b2
JK Lateral u2014 Lateral Face Hardness
566 kg
JK Lateral u2014 Transverse Face Hardness
635 kg
Where it's used
Built for the demanding jobs
01 — Furniture
Indoor & outdoor furniture
02 — Flooring
Premium hardwood flooring
03 — Musical Instruments
Tonewood & musical instruments
04 — Marine
Marine decking & boat building
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