FAMILY: Meliaceae
ORIGIN: From Sierra Leone to the Congo region and Angola and is most common in the eastern region of the Ivory Coast.
OTHER COMMON NAMES: Blimah-pu, Apapaye, Lusamba and Apaya.
THE TREE: Growing near streams and lakes, Avodiré reaches a height of 115 ft. and the bole is usually clear but irregular to 50 ft. The trunk is fluted with a diameter of 2 to 3 ft.
APPEARANCE: The heartwood is a creamy white to pale yellow, darkening to a golden yellow. The sapwood is not differentiated. The texture is moderately fine and the grain is straight, wavy, or irregularly interlocked that yields and attractive mottled figure if quartered. It has a high natural luster.
DENSITY: Average reported specific gravity is 0.48 (ovendry weight/green volume), equal to an air-dried weight of 36 pcf. Janka hardness is 1080 pounds of force.
DRYING & SHRINKAGE: It dries fairly rapidly with some tendency to warp and existing end checks are liable to extend. Movement in service is rated as small. Average reported shrinkage values (green to ovendry) are 4.6% radial and 6.7% tangential and 12.0% volumetric.
WORKING PROPERTIES: The timber saws well and is easy to work with hand and machine tools. In planing, a cutting angle of 15 to 20 degrees is suggested to avoid tearing of interlocking grain. Glue holds well and it has good veneering properties. Possible adverse reactions from the dust include dermatitis, nose bleeds, respiratory irritation and possible internal bleeding.
DURABILITY: Heartwood is nondurable and is reported to be only moderately or nonresistant to termite attack. The heartwood is highly resistant to preservative treatment while the sapwood is permeable.
USES: It is commonly used in furniture, fine joinery, decorative veneers, cabinetwork and paneling.