So, what the heck is a medullary ray? Put as simply as possible, rays are components of the anatomy of a tree. They are cellular structures that are perpendicular to the growth rings that are essential for the growth and health of the tree as they transport water, minerals, and other organic substances from the center of the tree to the surface. These structures are very pronounced in some species and hardly visible, or even completely absent, in others. For some applications, highly pronounced “ray fleck” is desirable while in other larger applications, for example in flooring, the high degree of figure might be distracting and unwanted. Leopardwood is one of the woods with highest degree of medullary ray fleck patterning and this pattern is what makes the wood desirable for certain applications.
Leopardwood Medullary Ray Fleck
Aside from the ray fleck pattern, the wood itself is of a medium to dark reddish brown color, generally much darker than any of the other “lacewood” look-alikes. The rays tend to be of a grey to much lighter brown color which provides great contrast against the darker brown or reddish heartwood.
The common name “Leopardwood” is due to the resemblance of the ray fleck pattern to a leopard’s spots, although the resemblance requires some degree of fanciful thinking in my opinion.
Leopardwood has rather coarse texture, due to the ray fleck, and the grain is generally straight.
The appearance of Leopardwood endgrain is diffuse and porous with small to medium sized pores in tangential rows. Occasionally heartwood deposits will be present. Predictably, the very wide rays are easily visible without a lens.
Although I cannot imagine that it would have great relevance for the most common uses of Leopardwood outside of its native range, Leopardwood is reported to be very durable in terms of resistance to fungal rot and decay. Resistance to insect attack is not reported, but again, is not likely to be of great concern for most users.
Working Characteristics
As is often the case with exotic hardwoods, some of the physical characteristics that make Leopardwood desirable also create difficulty when working with the material.
Leopardwood is considered by many to be rather difficult to work with because of its high density which can dull cutting edges and make work progress slowly. Also, the ray fleck pattern figure can lead to issues with tearing, especially during plane operations. Patience and sharp tools will be rewarded and there are expert opinions available about preventing tear out during plane procedures.
Leopardwood Lumber
Once those potential complications are overcome however, Leopardwood is reported to glue and finish quite well indeed.
Leopardwood has no characteristic odor when freshly cut or otherwise worked.
Pricing and Availability
Leopardwood is not particularly hard to find but it does command a medium to high price relative to other imported hardwoods.
In this blog, I always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods, Bell Forest Products, NC Wood, Got Wood?, and WoodTurningz.
Of these fine vendors, only Got Wood doesn’t stock Leopardwood, but that is because they specialize in domestic species.
West Penn Hardwoods is selling a limited range of spindle blank sizes of Leopardwood up to 2” square and 30” long, at a price ranging from $8 to $21 depending on size. They also sell Leopardwood lumber 4/4 at $15 per board foot. They do not stock Leopardwood pen or bowl blanks at this time.
Bell Forest Products sells exclusively spindle sized pieces of a wide range of sizes from pen blanks and dowels up to 2” square stock up to 24” long. Prices range from $1.50 through $31 depending on size. This vendor also sells lumber pieces of Leopardwood, in both 4/4 and 8/4 for about $19 per board foot depending on volume.