Triplochiton scleroxylon

Triplochiton scleroxylon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Triplochiton
Species: T. scleroxylon
Binomial name
Triplochiton scleroxylon

Triplochiton scleroxylon is a tree of the genus Triplochiton of the Malvaceae family. The timber is known by the common names African whitewood, abachi, obeche in Nigeria, wawa in Ghana, ayous in Cameroon and sambawawa in Ivory Coast.

Description

The species is distributed around the tropical areas of Western Africa. Trees grow to 20-60m tall with a 1-1.5m wide trunk.[1]

Uses

The timber yielded is typically pale yellow and is moderately soft and light for a hardwood.[2]

The timber is used in the manufacture of veneer, furniture, picture frames and mouldings. It is also used by guitar makers. Gibson and Fender Japan have used the wood to produce limited edition guitars.[3][4]

The tree is a host of the African silk moth, Anaphe venata, whose caterpillars feed on the leaves and spin cocoons which are then used to make silk.[5]

The wood is exploited in its natural habitat, a harvest that is unsustainable in some areas. However, it remains classed as 'least concern' on the IUCN Red List. [6]

References

  1. ↑ Obeche - The Wood Database
  2. ↑ Wood Species Database: Obeche - TRADA
  3. ↑ Fender Japan JB75 in Ayus/Obeche - TalkBass.com
  4. ↑ Gibson.com - Gibson Les Paul Jr Doublecut
  5. ↑ African whitewood (Triplochiton scleroxylon) - Reforet IITA
  6. ↑ African Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Zimbabwe, July 1996). 1998. Triplochiton scleroxylon. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. Downloaded on 24 July 2013.
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