Common Name: African Rosewood

General Information

Guibourtia demeusei is a densely crowned tree growing from 25 - 40 metres tall with a straight, clean bole that can be 10 - 20 metres long and up to 1 metre in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use of its resin and wood. The wood is of high quality and is commonly harvested for the export market.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Western tropical Africa - Cameroon to the Central African Republic, south to the Congo.

Habitat

Periodically flooded and swampy forests; gallery forest, often in pure stands[].

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	25.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A source of Congo copal, used for making varnishes and lacquers[]. Copal is a hard resin, obtained from various tropical trees, that is used to make varnish[].

The heartwood is a pink or reddish brown with some fine, purplish-red veins and some brown veins; it is clearly demarcated from the 2 - 8cm wide band of whitish sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight or interlocked, sometimes wavy; it has an unpleasant odour when first cut which disappears on drying. The wood is heavy to very heavy; hard to very hard; moderately to very elastic; durable, being resistant to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is poorly stable in service. The wood has a high blunting effect - stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; care is needed when working with interlocked grains, but a good finish can be obtained; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct for internal purposes only and needs to be done with care because the wood is dry and smooth. The wood is very decorative and has some resemblance to rosewood; it is often used for veneers, and is also used to make high class furniture, cabinet work, turnery, flooring, stairs, heavy carpentry, joinery, panelling, railway sleepers etc[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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