Sweetia panamensis

Chichipate

A dense, richly colored hardwood with a gold-flecked sapwood and a sharp, bitter bite — built for veneer, railroad ties, and heavy construction.

View Selected Inventory

800 Density (kg/m³)

1541 Rupture resistance (kg/cm²)

02 Native regions

1541 Bending strength

About Chichipate

Chichipate grows tall — trees reach 12 to 40 m — and has a heartwood in brown or olive-green tones, set off by a sapwood with a distinctive yellowish-cream, gold-like shimmer. The grain runs straight, and the wood is genuinely dense: hard enough to resist insects and fungi on its own, but that same density makes it a moderately demanding wood to work by hand or machine. It's not one you'd want to taste-test twice, either — it carries a strong, unpleasant scent and a notably bitter flavor. That toughness is exactly what's made it a reliable choice for plywood veneer, both core and visible face layers, along with parquet, wainscot, staves, and high-quality railroad ties — plus posts and rural construction locally.

Chakté (Mexico)
Bálsamo Amarillo
Bálsamo Oloroso
Cencerro
Chile
Corteza de Honduras
Guayacán
Huesillo
Huesito

At a glance

Origin: Belize, Guatemala, Central Mexico, Southeast Mexico, Southwest Mexico
Category: Indoor Furniture · Flooring
Best for: Furniture, flooring
Working properties: A highly dense wood — moderately difficult to work by hand or machine, though its hardness pays off in strong natural resistance to insects and fungi.

Spec sheet

Physical-mechanical properties

Physical-mechanical values for Chichipate from the approved Final Content document.

Density 800 kg/m³

MOE Flex — Elastic Modulus 182580 kg/cm²

RLE Flex — Elastic Resistance Limit 839 kg/cm²

RR Flex — Rupture Resistance 1541 kg/cm²

PMOE Com for — Elastic Modulus, Compression Parallel 162160 kg/cm²

PRLE Com for — Elastic Resistance Limit, Compression Parallel 346 kg/cm²

RR Com for — Rupture Resistance 698 kg/cm²

RLE Com for — Elastic Resistance Limit, Perpendicular Compression 697 kg/cm²

RR Shear for — Rupture Resistance, Parallel Shear 697 kg/cm²

JK Lateral — Lateral Face Hardness 1067 kg

JK Lateral — Transverse Face Hardness 1165 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

Application Gallery

Request this species

Ask about Chichipate

Tell us your project’s dimensions and finish requirements — we’ll
confirm stock, grading, and lead time from our working inventory.

Request a quote View related woods