Massaranduba (pronounced ma-sa-ran-DOO-bah) is a hardwood native to South America. It bears the distinction of being one of the most beautiful and hardest woods in the world. One surprising fact about this natural hardwood is how well it performs under heavy load (bending strength) tests. These tests revealed that, as a decking material, Massaranduba is twice as strong as California Redwood and is even stronger than Ipe decking.