Sapele

Sapele
Entandrophragma cylindricum
A sapele tree in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Genus: Entandrophragma
Species: E. cylindricum
Binomial name
Entandrophragma cylindricum

Entandrophragma cylindricum is a tree of the genus Entandrophragma of the family Meliaceae. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli (/səˈpiːliː/ sə-PEE-lee) or sapele mahogany[2], as well as aboudikro, assi and muyovu.

Description

Entandrophragma cylindricum is native to tropical Africa.[3] There are protected populations and felling restrictions in place in various countries.

The species grows to a height of up to 45 m (rarely 60 m). The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long. The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences when the tree is leafless, each flower about 5 mm diameter, with five yellowish petals. The fruit is a pendulous capsule about 10 cm long and 4 cm broad; when mature it splits into five sections to release the 15-20 seeds.[4]

An array mbira made of sapele wood

Uses

The commercially important hardwood is reminiscent of mahogany, and is a part of the same Meliaceae family. It is darker in tone and has a distinctive figure, typically applied where figure is important. Sapele is particularly prized for a lustrous iridescence with colors that range from light pink to brown and gold to red. It has a high density of 640 kg/m3 and interlocked grain, which can make machining somewhat difficult. Demand for sapele increased as a mahogany substitute in recent years due to genuine mahogany becoming a CITES Appendix II listed species.[5] It is used in the manufacture of furniture, joinery, veneer, luxury flooring, and boat building.

Among its more exotic uses is that in musical instruments. It is used for the back and sides of acoustic guitar bodies, as well as the bodies of electric guitars. It is also used in manufacturing the neck piece of ukuleles and 26- and 36-string harps. In the late 90s, it started to be used as a board for Basque percussion instruments txalaparta.

References

  1. ↑ Hawthorne, W. (1998). Entandrophragma cylindricum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1998: e.T33051A9753619. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T33051A9753619.en. Downloaded on 21 July 2018.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Entandrophragma cylindricum - World Forestry
  4. ↑ Sapele - The Wood Database
  5. ↑ Mahogany Mixups: the Lowdown - The Wood Database
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