This richly colored hardwood is known both as Brazilian Cherry and as Jatoba. Although it is not technically a cherry wood, it is like cherry in certain respects, and quite unlike in others. Brazilian Cherry is extremely versatile and is used in cabinet making, tool handles, and athletic equipment. It also makes excellent hardwood flooring board.

The coloring of this exotic hardwood is very distinctive, characterized by a lustrous range of deep reds, burgundies, and darker reddish browns, making it an extremely decorative hardwood flooring board option with an exotic, high-end appeal. This hardwood flooring board is photosensitive and will darken over time, just like American cherry hardwood. The wood is extremely dense and hard, more so than many domestic hardwoods, which makes it a very reliable choice for hardwood flooring board.

Brazilian Cherry is an extremely heavy wood; hard to cut, variable heartwood regarding color, from light brown to pink, to reddish brown, with some intense shadowing. Thick sapwood, notably differentiated, white slightly yellowed, uniform medium texture, regular to irregular grain of wood, rough and of poor shine surface; imperceptible scent and taste. It darkens from a tan/salmon color to a deep, reddish brown and is 228 % as hard as domestic Red Oak. On the Janka Hardness scale, Brazilian Cherry ranks 2820 vs. 1260 for Red Oak.

See additional hardwood flooring types.