|
 |
| Wood type |
Hardwood |
| Environmental |
Not listed in CITES. Believed available from well-managed sources. Check certification status with suppliers. |
| Distribution |
It occurs in the semi-evergreen forests from the Ivory Coast to Angola in the west, across to Uganda in the east. |
| The Tree |
It is a large deciduous tree often 48m tall with an average diameter of 1.0m to 1.5m or more. It is sometimes strongly buttressed, the winged buttresses extending as much as 6m up the trunk. |
| The Timber |
The heartwood is typically a uniform reddish-brown, but occasional logs are much lighter coloured, sometimes a pale pink not very different from the pinkish-grey sapwood which may be
100mm wide. The heartwood darkens on exposure. The grain is interlocked, but the stripe figure produced on quarter-sawn surfaces is rather irregular and broad. It has a medium texture. The
surface is lustrous, more so than sapele, and when fresh, the wood has a slight scent. It is lighter in weight than sapele, weighing about 560 kg/m3 when dried. |
| Drying |
The timber dries rapidly with a marked tendency to distort. |
| Strength |
It has good strength properties for its weight, but is slightly inferior in this respect to African mahogany and sapele. |
| Working Qualities |
Medium - Medium |
| Durability |
Moderately durable |
| Treatability |
Extremely difficult |
Moisture
Movement |
Small |
Density
(mean, Kg/m³) |
560 |
| Texture |
Medium |
| Availability |
Limited |
| Price |
Low |
| Use(s) |
Exterior joinery, Interior joinery, Furniture |
| Colour(s) |
Reddish brown |
|
