Plywood

ANGONGUI

ANGONGUI

Angongui is a homogenous wood with a grey-pink tint. This wood is also known as Onzabili and has a coarse and felt-like structure.

Description

Botanical name:	Antrocaryon klaineanum
Overall character:	This simple and soft wood has good strength properties. However, it is not resistant to weather or insects.
Color and structure:	The heartwood and sapwood are only vaguely separated from each other. Both have a greyish-pink to bright red color.
Characteristics/features:	Angongui is easily processable using tools of all kinds. It has proven itself to be a very elastic peeled veneer, and plywood panels made of this material have great staying power.
Areas of use:	Being a peeled veneer similar to Okoume, Angongui is not a particularly decorative, plain wood. Therefore, the areas of use are found where a moderately strained construction wood is needed for interior use.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

AYOUS

AYOUS

The light, almost white Ayous is one of the best-known kinds of imported timber from Africa. Because of its low weight and great staying power, Ayous has been used in indoor areas for decades. In Germany, Ayous also goes by other trading names, such as Obeche or Abachi. In the Ivory Coast it’s called Samba, whereas in Ghana it carries the name Wawa.

Description

Botanical name:	Triplochiton scleroxylon
Overall character:	Light, airy hardwood with a porous structure. The planed surfaces have a glossy appearance.
Color and structure:	The splint and heartwood are light yellow to straw-colored. The splint can have a width of up to 15 centimetres. The unclear borders of the growth zones are identified by the fine. The borders of the growth zones are blurry in most cases, and can only be identified through very fine marginal parenchyma (ground tissue) and irregular porosity.
Characteristics/features:	Pursuant to DIN-EN 350-2 (German Institute for Standardization and European Norms), Ayous is classified to have a class 5 durability. It is prone to fungus and insect infestation, and thus can’t be used outdoors without protection.
Areas of use:	Appropriate for areas that require good form stability and low weight and no support. The solid wood can be used for ledges, concealed frames for paneled doors, model construction, sauna benches and packaging. Ayous is especially popular for sauna and theater construction.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

FRAKE / LIMBA

FRAKE / LIMBA

Previously, this species was known to most consumers only as light wood that’s mostly imported from countries South of the equator. Recently, however, there’s been an increasing demand in Limba, which is a darker remarkable wood, mainly from countries North of the equator.

Description

Botanical name:	Terminalia superba
Overall character:	Light or variably dark wood with a moderately visible porosity.
Color and structure:	The outer sapwood is up to 10 cm wide and has a pale yellowish grey color. It is hardly distinguishable from the inner area, which is also called bright Limba. However, timber of all provenances can, more or less frequently, have cloudy, star and band-shaped kernelly marks in an olive-grey to dark brown color on the cross-section.
Characteristics/features:	Frake wood is of has a medium weight. Just like Limba wood, which has a variable weight (0.52 to 0.6 grams/cm for lighter qualities and 0.5 to 0.55 g/cm3 for more colored options), the processability of the timber may vary.
Areas of use:	Frake is suitable for all kinds of indoor construction. Because of its low resistance to fungus when damp, it can not be used outdoors.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

FROMAGER

FROMAGER

Fuma is one of the very recurrent and widespread wood types. Initially, it was mostly known in the tropics of America, but it’s been used for the production of Kapok seed fibres used for upholstery material. It has above all made a home in Africa.

Description

Botanical name:	Ceiba pentandra
Overall character:	Light and airy wood with an uneven fibre flow and a simple pattern.
Color and structure:	The splint is light grey to yellow-white with a pinkish grey tint in some cases. There is generally no distinction between heartwood and sapwood. The pores are coarse and dispersed. They can be more common and visible in early wood than in late wood. The pores show up heavily on tangential surfaces, and often have a darker, spiral pattern that highlights the wood.
Characteristics/features:	The given figures can vary because of differences in density. Fuma (or Ceiba) wood is very rich in water while it is fresh. Its dry state is one of the lightest timbers still used commercially. The physical strength properties are low and can vary, even within the species.
Areas of use:	Due to its low strength properties, lightweight Fuma (Ceiba) timber is suitable for the production of boards, especially blockboards with wooden sticks in the middle layer. It can also be processed into lightweight disposable packaging. The panels can only be made of of Fuma (Ceiba), or the surface can be improved by being covered with a harder veneer on the exterior.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

ILOMBA / OTIE

ILOMBA / OTIE

Ilomba wood occurs in Western and Central Africa. Due to its distinctively straight fibres and light color, Ilomba has proven itself to be significant in various areas. It is especially successful in the production of fillets and rotary cut woods.

Description

Botanical name:	Pycnanthus angolensis
Overall character:	This tree generally has a medium diameter and light, slightly porous wood with an exceptionally even structure and optical appearance.
Color and structure:	The splint has a yellowish white to pale pink tint, with no visible distinction between heartwood and sapwood. Fresh wood is prone to pink-grey to brownish, bacterial discoloration in the the bark-free areas as well as during the drying of the sawn timber, especially under staple blocks and at the end of log cuts.
Characteristics/features:	Moderately light wood with slightly lower strength properties than Limba, but higher than Okoume. The fresh wood is easily cuttable. It tends to develop fibrous edges.
Areas of use:	Due to the lack of resistance to fungus when damp Ilomba is recommended for indoor use. Here, it can diversely be used as a solid wood, unless a special appearance is needed or a heavier strain occurs.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

KAPOKIER

KAPOKIER

Found all over Western Africa, especially strongly represented in the Center of the Congo.

Description

Botanical name:	Bombax buonopozense
Overall character:	A strikingly massive tree with a diameter of up to 200 centimetres.
Color and structure:	The wood has a white to yellowish-white and light grey shade, with red or brown hues. The splint is not particularly distinct.
Characteristics/features:	It is very homogenous, evenly grown and only rarely shows signs of fibre twists. Light and fine-grained.
Areas of use:	Often used for interior construction, wood turning and furniture.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

KOTO

KOTO

Species of the Pterygota genus are prevalent in the tropical regions of West Africa, Madagascar, South Asia, South East Asia and Central America. Globally, this off-white wood is particularly used for doors and other indoor construction.

Description

Botanical name:	Pterygota macrocarpa
Overall character:	Light, semi-specular wood with a medium density. The porosity is usually very noticable. It often has an emphasised tangential grain structure.
Color and structure:	The heartwood is a yellowish white color when fresh and not clearly distinguished from the sapwood, as it only darkens slightly. Strong trunks can sometimes have a closed or veiny brown heart. The pores are rough, but not numerous.
Characteristics/features:	The fresh timber (or dried wood that is rewetted) is prone to fungus and insect infestations and can quickly lose color and therefore its value.
Areas of use:	Koto is mostly used as a solid wood for furniture and indoor use, as profiled wood for ceiling panelling and wall covering, and for picture frame strips. As a sliced veneer, it is also used as an areal element for walls, ceilings and doors.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de

OKOUME

OKOUME

Following introduction of the particle board and the use of other woods, Okoume wood has lost its significance, after previously being the most notable rotary cut timber.

Description

Botanical name:	Aucoumea klaineana
Overall character:	Uniformly structured and slightly cooler wood with varying fibre flow.
Color and structure:	The sapwood is 3 to 5 cm wide, with a light grey color. Depending on origin and age, the heartwood can vary. It is generally salmon-colored with a matte sheen (when dry) and turns more yellow in the light.
Characteristics/features:	For all figures, a variance of ± 10% can be expected. These often depend on the habitat as well as the tree age. The timber, which is moderately light like poplar wood, can be dried using all available methods and, depending on the grain, has a satisfactory to good staying power.
Areas of use:	Okoume is mainly processed as a peeled or sliced veneer for plates made out of veneers or veneer coated panels. It can also be used for veneer plates of various strengths and sizes, as well as for door panel decks and chipboards.
Sources:	https://www.holzvomfach.de