Exotic Woods Trading

BOTANICAL NAMES

Guibourtia demeuseii, G. pellegriniana, G. tessmannii

 

FAMILY

Member of the Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae family

 

COMMERCIAL NAMES

Bubinga, African Rosewood

 

NATIVE NAMES

Akume, Kevazingo, Buvenga, Ebana, Essingang, Kevazingo/a, Okweni, Ovang, Waka

 

SPECIES APPLICATIONS/ USES

HIGH CLASS FURNITURE – INTERIOR PANELLING – TURNED GOODS –  FLOORING – HEAVY CARPENTRY – VEHICLE OR CONTAINER FLOORING – STAIRS (Inside) – VENEER – SLEEPERS - CABINETRY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RANGE

African equatorial forests and gallery forests throughout the equatorial region. Found mostly in Cameroon, Gabon, and the Ivory Coast. Sizeable numbers are also found growing The Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria.

 

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Bubinga is medium red-brown with lighter red to purple veining. The heartwood is reddish brown, often with violet-brown or purplish streaks, and distinctly demarcated from the whitish, up to 7.5 cm wide sapwood. Sapwood is a pale straw color. The grain is straight or interlocked, texture fine and even. In some logs the grain is very irregular and these are converted by peeling into rotary cut veneers called kevasingo. The texture is moderately coarse but even. Colour does darken with age. It is often referred to as an African rosewood, although technically NOT from the rosewood family. The wood is lustrous and scented when freshly cut.

Durable to very durable. Bubinga is also reported to be resistant to termite and marine borer attack.

 

DRYING

The timber dries easily except for gum exudation, with and high risk of distortion.

 

SPECIFIC WEIGHT

With a moisture content of 12%, the specific weight in average of 890 kg per cubic meter.

 

PRINCIPAL USES AND PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

The wood is fairly easy to saw and work with both machine and hand tools, and it planes to a good finish. It polishes well and varnishes satisfactorily. It holds nails well and has good gluing properties. Good-quality veneer can be produced by slicing. Bubinga is reported to have an unpleasant scent when the lumber is still wet, which disappears after the wood is dry.