Balsa
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| Balsa | ||||||||||||||
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| Ochroma lagopus |
Balsa (Ochroma lagopus, synonym O. pyramidale) is a large, fast-growing tree to 30 m tall, native from tropical South America north to southern Mexico. It is evergreen, or dry-season deciduous if the dry season is long, with large (30–50 cm) weakly palmately lobed leaves.
The timber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. The density of balsa wood ranges from 100–200 kg/m³, with a typical density of about 140 kg/m³ (about one third the density of ordinary wood). This makes it a very popular material for model making and buoyancy materials (lifebelts, etc.), and was famously used by Thor Heyerdahl in his raft Kon-Tiki.
Despite its softness, balsa is classified as a hardwood.
External links
- Species description (http://ctfs.si.edu/webatlas/english/ochrpy.html)
- Photo of foliage and flower (http://www.tfts.org/ochroma_lagopus.htm)
- Kon-Tiki museum website (http://www.museumsnett.no/kon-tiki/)
- ITIS 21602 (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=21602)
- See also Balsa (email client)