Degame is no lemon: little used degame/lemonwood is a big hit with archers.

Family Name

Calycophyllum candidissimum of the Family Rubiaceae 

Common Names

Degame, lemonwood, degame lancewood, degame sars, madrono, camaron, palo camaron, surra, alazano, guayabo, araguato, betun

Height/Weight

Trees vary in height. Average height is 40 to 50 feet, but trees can grow to a height of 64 feet. Average weight is 51 pounds per cubic foot with a specific gravity of 0.82.

Properties

Creamy yellow color with a sapwood that is colorless to brownish-white with a small light olive brown heartwood.

Hard, heavy and tough wood with good resilience and good bending classification.

Wood dries well with little degrade; small movement in service.

Wood holds screws and nails without problems.

Glues and stains well.

Opinions vary on workability of material, with some experts saying wood is difficult to saw and moderately difficult to work.

Trees of the species Calycophyllum condidissimum go by a variety of names, primarily degame and lemonwood. In Mexico, the trees are called camaron and palo camaron, while in Costa Rica the name is surra. In Panama, the trees are called alazano, in Colombia, they are called guayabo; and in Venezuela, the names are araguato and betun. For this column, the names degame and lemonwood will be used interchangeably.

Degame grows in Cuba and also in a range that runs from southern Mexico through Central America to Colombia and Venezuela.

The name lemonwood, used most often in the United States, is a misnomer, said Paul Stone, part-owner of Renaissance Specialty Veneer Products (RSVP), in Corona, CA. "This tree isn't, in any way, part of the Lemon tree family. The name lemonwood most likely can be traced to the color of the wood, which is a light, rather than bright, yellow."

Stone has fielded several inquiries about the wood in the past year. "It is a difficult-to-find wood. Its primary use seems to be in the solid wood form for archery bows. Logs are extremely hard to get because some of the better Logs seem to be coming from Cuba."

Marty Talcove of Tropical Exotic Hardwoods, Carlsbad, CA, said they carry lemonwood staves. "It is mostly used for bows. We do not sell too much of it. The staves are roughly 80 inches long, 2 inches thick and 3 to 4 inches wide. Our customers usually use it for bows. It's a very good wood for that application."

Talcove said that while the wood is listed on Tropical Exotic Hardwoods' inventory under the name degame, it is much more commonly known as lemonwood among his users.

"Rare as veneer and Limited in Lumber" is the description of lemonwood in the Fine Hardwood's Selectorama."

Stone agrees that the wood is very rare as a veneer. "It could be that, with trade restrictions on logs from Cuba, you see Less of it in veneer form. The Lack of veneer production is primarily due to a difficulty in getting the resource. If the resources were available, this could be a marketable species, because it is a lighter-colored, almost off-white wood. Woods Like avodire and anigre have been in vogue and the market is always Looking for substitutes for them."

Some reference sources also List degame as a substitute for lancewood (Oxandra lanceolata).

Stone said degame/lemonwood trees can grow to 64 feet or more in height, although 40-foot heights are more typical. "This is not a real big tree. Some mahogany trees, for example, are 3 feet in diameter. A big tog for degame would be 24 inches in diameter."

The U.S. Forest Service Forest Product Lab's fact sheet on degame said trees are usually 40 to 50 feet high, but may reach heights of 90 feet.

The fact sheet states that "Boles are usually straight and free of branches for half the total tree height."

Degame Uses

Long appreciated by archers for use in bows because of its unique set of properties and an ability to bend without breaking, degame is also a great choice for turnery.

Degame also is used for billiard cues, flooring, interior joinery, cabinetry, shuttles and other parts for the textile industry, measuring instruments and shoe lasts. It is considered a top choice for sculpture and woodcarving, and it is used to make organ parts. In the areas where the tree grows, it also is used for the interior framing of buildings.

In the book, Know Your Woods by Albert Constantine Jr., the author writes, "Lemonwood is similar in strength, toughness and resilience to hickory. It is without any distinctive odor or taste." He describes the wood as somewhat difficult to work, but other experts give it a better workability rating. In the book, Encyclopedia of Wood, the editors write that the wood is not difficult to work with hand or machine tools, if the cutting surfaces are kept sharp.

Most experts agree that degame can be difficult to split. The Forest Products Lab's report states that there is "some tendency to warp when dried as small squares for archery bows; also some surface and end checking occurs in plank stock." Forest Products Lab's drying recommendations include a kiln schedule of T2-C2 for 4/4 Lumber and T2-C1 for 8/4.

Editor's note: 116 Wood of the Month articles are now online, with more coming soon. Visit the Wood of the Month archive at www.iswonline.com.