Strombosia glaucescens

Afina

Family: Olacaceae

Other Common Names: Poe (Ivory Coast), Itako, Otingbo (Nigeria).

Distribution: From Sierra Leone to the Congo region; found in rain forests, often as a dominant, and in transitional formations.

The Tree: Up to 100 ft in height; bole straight and slender, without buttresses; trunk diameter up to 1.5 ft.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood pink or pale brown with purplish streaks; sapwood wide, yellowish and sharply defined. Texture fine; grain fairly straight; lustrous has an unpleasant smell when freshly cut; rather oily to touch.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.80; air-dry density 61 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (2-cm standard)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

12% (46) 28,200 2,370 13,100

Amsler toughness 505 in.-lb at 12% moisture content (2-cm specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: Difficult to season, liable to surface and end checking. No information on kiln schedules. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 7.2%; tangential 10.2%; volumetric 15.0%.

Working Properties: Timber saws cleanly but is apt to spring and split, works well and takes a smooth finish, glues well, splits in nailing and requires preboring, can be sliced into veneers.

Durability: Heartwood is highly durable and is immune to termite and other insect attack.

Preservation: Heartwood extremely resistant to preservative treatments; sapwood fairly permeable.

Uses: Often used in the round as building poles and transmission poles (treated), striking tool handles, turnery, heavy-duty flooring. Oil from seeds is used for ointment and soap. Suggested as a substitute for European boxwood.

Additional Reading: (3), (46)

M 150 282-3Logs are delivered to a sawmill in southern Nigeria. African mahogany

(mostly Khaya ivorensis) is in high demand on overseas markets. Export of logs fro

this region, as well as from most other tropical areas, is being restricted.