Purpleheart

noun

1. Any of several tropical American trees of the genus <em>Peltogyne</em> of the pea family, having very hard, durable brown wood that turns a purple color on exposure.
2. The purplish heartwood of any of these trees, used in furniture, turnery, and decorative work.
3. A strong, durable, and elastic wood of a purplish color, obtained from several tropical American leguminous trees of the genus Copaifera (<spn>Copaifera pubiflora</spn>, <spn>Copaifera bracteata</spn>, and <spn>Copaifera officinalis</spn>). Used for decorative veneering. See <xref urlencoded="copaiba">copaiba</xref>.
4. A large <xref>tropical</xref> <xref>tree</xref>, of the genus Peltogyne, native to parts of <xref>South America</xref> and the <xref>West Indies</xref>
5. The <xref>purplish</xref> <xref>heartwood</xref> of this tree, used to make <xref>furniture</xref>