THE Tonka Bean tree goes by the scientific name Dipteryxodorataisa. It is a huge rainforest canopy tree that is one of the lesser used (LUS) timber species in Guyana, but, like the greenheart tree, it is widely known for its exceptional hardness and durability.

The Tonka Bean is native to South America, specifically Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, where it is known variously as Sarrapia (Venezuela) and Cumaru or Brazilian Teak (Brazil and Suriname).
The Tonka Bean tree sometimes grows up to 160 feet tall, and the diameter of its trunk can reach up to three and a half feet.
The trunks are unbuttressed and cylindrical, and are generally clear to between 60 and 80 ft.

Bad for the eater
The Tonga Bean tree bears pulpy, egg-shaped pods of fragrant, black, almond-shaped seeds which contain the chemical, Coumarin, responsible for the pleasant odour of the seeds and their use in the perfume industry.
Coumarin is, however, bitter to the taste, and in large infused doses, may even cause hemorrhaging and liver damage, as well as paralysis of the heart. Eating the fruit is therefore not recommended.

Characteristics
The tree’s bark is smooth and grey, and the wood itself varies in colour, from tan brown with a yellow or purplish pink tinge, to becoming reddish brown with age.
Radio-carbon dating of Tonka Bean tree stumps left by a large logging operation near Manaus, Brazil by scientists Niro Higuchi, Jeffrey Chambers and Joshua Schime have shown that the Tonka Bean tree was one of approximately 100 species which definitely live to over 1,000 years. Until their research, it had been assumed that no Amazonian tree could live to a notable old age, because of the conditions of the rain forest.
The Tonka Bean tree is widely known for its exceptional hardness and durability. Tonka Bean timbers have a reputation for being very durable, and can resist both brown-rot and white-rot fungi. The wood has excellent weathering possibilities, and has been rated as able to resist decay and insect damage for some 25 years; and some applications having longevity of over 50 years.
Timbers of the Tonka Bean tree  are ideal for heavy construction applications, barge and dock fenders, floorings, tool handles, sleepers, bridges, weathered construction., dragline/crane mats, gearing, heavy carpentry and decorative veneers.
Elsewhere, this exotic hardwood is a great choice for both residential and commercial installations, especially to users who prefer a more brownish look to their application.
The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) says that Tonka Bean timber has heavy density qualities comparable to greenheart, purpleheart, bulletwood and mora timbers. The Tonka Bean is, however, not used much by the end users of forestry products, who prefer to stick to the better known commercial species of wood.

Reputation
In some communities in other parts of South America, the Tonka Bean is considered to have magical properties and uses. Some practitioners of various occult traditions believe that the beans of the Tonka tree can grant or help one fulfill desires and wishes when used in a variety of methods, including holding the bean in your hand while whispering a wish or desire, then carrying it with you until your wish or desire is fulfilled, then burying the bean afterwards.
Another common belief is that, by making your wish with the bean in your hand, then stomping on it afterwards, your desires would be fulfilled.
This approach is, however, being discouraged by the GFC, which feels that the main advantage to more popular use of the LUS, such as the Tonka Bean, is that it would widen species utilization, which would ultimately reduce ‘creaming’ of the Guyana forest.