Trade names: Sucupira, Coeur dehors Country of origin: South America Occurrence: Primarily in Brazil as well as northern South America, Venezuela, Guyana. Uses: Due to their wide distribution in different linguistic areas, different names are often used for the same wood from this group while woods of different botanical affiliation are often called the same. This is particularly true of sucupira. Sucupira is a very hard wood that can be subjected to particularly high stresses. Character: The heartwood is red to brown-red with yellowish and black veins. It darkens uniformly to chocolate brown when exposed to light. The pattern is relatively disorderly, but tangential bands can be seen, which are delineated by the growth rings. The latewood is sharply separated from the earlywood. Special Features: Sucupira is also known as the Brazilian chestnut. The trees, 12 to 18 meters high, have a straight trunk. After the rainy season, the tree (butterfly plant) is covered all over with light purple to blue flowers.