Parana pine

Overview

A straight-grained, medium-brown South American softwood with red streaks, once widely exported for joinery and stair parts, now critically endangered after heavy logging. It is not a true pine. If you are offered it, treat provenance as the first question.

Pros

• Easy to work with hand and machine tools; glues and finishes well (Wood Database).
• Straight grain, uniform medium texture.
• Warm colour with red streaks.
• Reasonably hard for a softwood (810 lbf).

Cons

• Critically endangered, so ethical sourcing is difficult.
• Warps and distorts while drying; compression wood can cause further distortion after ripping (Wood Database).
• Non-durable to perishable, with poor insect resistance.
• Very seldom available and expensive.

Variants and subspecies

• Not a true pine: the genus Araucaria is in a different family from Pinus.
• Sold as Parana pine or Brazilian pine.
• Compare Kauri and Huon pine, other southern conifers.

Working and finishing

Planes and machines easily, but check boards for compression wood and re-flatten after ripping. Allow it to acclimatise. Glues and finishes well.

Staining and finishing colour

Takes clear finish and stain acceptably; the red streaks show through. It darkens somewhat with age.

Sustainability and handling

Not CITES-listed (Wood Database; checked 2026-09-30), but on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered after a population reduction of over 80 percent in three generations (Wood Database and Wikipedia agree). Use only reclaimed or well-documented stock. The Wood Database reports skin irritation from Araucaria woods.

Popular projects

Furniture, interior millwork and stair parts, flooring and veneer.

Buying notes

Very seldom available. No retail listing was opened for this guide, so the price range is an estimate; the Wood Database says prices are much higher than comparable domestic softwoods. Prefer reclaimed stock.