Welcome back to our spotlight series, Elemental Featured Products. This week we’re taking a look at one of the most popular South American exotic hardwood species available: Santos Mahogany. Enjoy!
Santos Mahogany is a beautiful exotic hardwood flooring material that grows from southern Mexico down through Central and South America. It gained popularity in the early 1990s as a harder, stronger alternative to Genuine Mahogany, which at the time was becoming more difficult to acquire and was steadily increasing in price.
Despite its name, Santos Mahogany is actually not Mahogany at all. The name is derived from the wood’s Mahogany-esque appearance. Its heartwood ranges from light golden brown to reddish-brown and, upon exposure, will darken to a deep red-brown with hints of purple. The sapwood of Santos Mahogany is typically a creamy white color and generally only seen in lower grades.
Santos Mahogany hardwood flooring features an interlocked grain with a fine to medium texture. The wood has a hardness rating of 2,200 pounds, which is just under Brazilian Cherry and 70 percent harder than Red Oak. Santos Mahogany is commonly considered to be one of the most stable exotic hardwood flooring species available.
Elemental imports Santos Mahogany in 3/4″ x 3”, 3-1/4”, 4”, & 5” widths. The product is typically Clear or Select grade with 1’-7’ lengths and is available both prefinished & unfinished.
Questions? Contact your Elemental Hardwoods representative today – we’d love to hear from you!