Turraeanthus africana
(see below for list of synonyms)
Turraeanthus africana has at least the following synonyms: Bingeria africana, Guarea africana, Turraeanthus africanus, Turraeanthus vignei and Turraeanthus zenkeri. There are several other botanical names that have been associated with avodire, but I cannot find reputable authorities to support any of them.
my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K) colors will vary under other lighting conditions
both sides of a sample plank of avodire / Turraeanthus africanus (a synonym of Turraeanthus africana) --- HUGE enlargements are present
end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above --- the original end grain closeup showed nothing but saw marks, so I discarded it
both sides of a sample plank of avodire / Turraeanthus africanus (a synonym of Turraeanthus africana) --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- as can be seen in the end grain pic directly above, there is an area to the left of center that is even rougher than the rest and this update did not get all the way down to a smooth surface in that area. Nonetheless, the fine grain detail is clear on the right side of this update.
both sides of a sample plank of avodire / Turraenanthus africanus (a synonym of Turraeanthus africana) --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. I note that the vendor has misspelled the genus incorrectly by adding an "h" and has also designated this as "curly". The only curl on this piece is some planar skip which you can see on the raw labeled side but this kind of dishonesty cropped up on several of this vendors pieces. The unlabeled side has been sanded to 240 grit and shows no curl and no planar skip.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of avodire / Turraeanthus africanus (a synonym of Turraeanthus africana) --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
plank and end grain --- the side-on pic looks exactly like the wood, but the end grain pic is a little too dark and yellow.
end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above. The color on the closeup should have more yellow/tan
mottled veneer --- the first piece is not quite as red as the pic shows and the color on the 2nd pic is quite accurate
quartersawn figured (mottled) veneer sheet and closeup
flat cut veneer, showing the amazing ripple figure that can be found in this species. The pic just can't do it justice, since it shimmers and moves in the light with a terrific three-dimensional effect that makes it hard to believe it's a flat piece.
flat cut veneer --- each of these pieces was selected as having a ripply section, so these are representative of flat cut only if you ignore the ripply sections.
quartersawn veneer that was laying around for 15 years before I took the picture, so I'm not sure if the relatively dark color was there originally or not.
quartersawn veneer
quartersawn veneer w/ a small amount wave in the grain
avodire veneer --- HUGE enlargements are present. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION D. The older collection has this as Africana Bingeria which is wrong on several counts. First it has the specific epithet capitalized, which is incorrect. Second, it has the two parts of the binomial name reversed; it should be Bingeria africana, and third, Bingeria africana is just a synonym for Turraeanthus africanus (although possibly that was not the case when the collection was put together).
quartersawn avodire veneer from COLLECTION E --- HUGE enlargements are present. Some of the darkening may be dirt but I think it's mostly just an age patina.
web pics:
the range of colors is VERY unlikely.
two pics of quartersawn veneer. The colors don't look accurate to me.
planks
plank with a red color that I do not find believable
figured veneer
more veneer --- most of it seems to be figured, but none of it was listed as such
closeups of veneer with both levels of enlargement
plain cut veneer
quartersawn figured veneer with the last two pics being from a vendor who consistently gets the colors wrong, so I'm sure the yellow is exaggerated in the pics
flat cut figured veneer
listed as mottled veneer but it certainly has a very weak mottle figure --- see my own example at the top of the page for a better one.
this one doesn't really look like it belongs here, but it was posted as a pic of avodire curly veneer
