Balsa (Ochroma lagopus, synonym O. pyramidale) is a large, fast-growing tree to 30 m tall, native from tropicalSouth America north to southern Mexico. It is evergreen, or dry-season deciduous if the dry season is long, with large (30-50 cm) weakly palmately lobed leaves.
The timber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. The density of balsa wood ranges from 100-200 kg/m³, with a typical density of about 140 kg/m³ (about one third the density of ordinary wood). This makes it a very popular material for model making and buoyancy materials (lifebelts, etc), and was famously used by Thor Heyerdahl in his raft Kon-Tiki.
Despite its softness, balsa is classified as a hardwood.
External links
Species description (http://ctfs.si.edu/webatlas/english/ochrpy.html)
Balsa is one of the few trees in the jungle which has a simple leaf shape.
Nature evidently designed the balsa tree to be a "nurse tree" which would protect the slower-growing species of trees from the scorching jungle sun during their critical early years.
In selecting balsa sheets for use in your model, it is important to consider the way the grain runs through the sheet as well as the weight of the sheet.
The density of balsawood ranges from 100-200 kg/mandsup3, with a typical density of about 140 kg/mandsup3 (about one third the density of ordinary wood).
This makes it a very popular material for model making and buoyancy materials (lifebelts, etc), and was famously used by Thor Heyerdahl in his raft Kon-Tiki.
Despite its softness, balsa is classified as a hardwood.
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