CHENCHEN
BOTANICAL NAME: Antiaris spp. (includes Antiaris toxicaria, Antiaris africana, Antiaris welwitschii) of the family Moraceae
Antiaris is the Javanese name for the gum resin of the upas tree
COMMON NAMES: aka, antiaris, bonkongo (congo), akeche (sierra leone), akede (ivory coast), ako (central africa and gabon and ivory coast and zaire), aloa (cameroon), ambavy (madagascar), andoum, andoum (gabon), antiaris, antiaris (east africa and west africa and central africa), antiaris kirundu (tanzania), arayanjily, arbre des upas (gabon and india and west malaysia), aso (new hebrides), barkcloth-tree (ghana and ivory coast), basudh (indonesia), bofun (ghana), bokonko (africa), bonkongo (ivory coast and zaire), bonkonko (central africa and ivory coast), bouee (mali), boufou (ivory coast), bovii (sierra leone), bovili (ivory coast), cencen (ghana), chen-chen, chenchen, chenchen (ghana and ivory coast and uganda), cong (cambodia and laos and vietnam), derei (irian barat), dery (irian barat), diolosso, diolosso (cameroon and ivory coast), dry (irian barat), east african antiaris (tanzania and uganda), egyan (ghana), ejan (ghana), fou (ivory coast), gbole (guinea), handame (ivory coast), hmyaseik (burma), honton (ghana), ilai (new hebrides), ipoh (brunei and indonesia and sarawak and west malaysia), ipu (indonesia), ipuh (indonesia and sumatra), ju-u (ivory coast), kakulu (ivory coast), kalambana (mali), kalulu (sierra leone), kan (senegal), kirundo, kirundo (uganda), kirundu, kirundu (central africa and ivory coast and uganda and congo), kodzo (ghana and ivory coast), konkonko (zaire), kpoloe (guinea), kpu (liberia), kyen-kyen (ghana), kyenkyen, kyenkyen (ghana and ivory coast), kyenkyer (ghana), lagema (new hebrides), logo (west africa), logotsi (ghana and ivory coast), mano (new hebrides), mavu ni toga (fiji), mbandji afou (congo), mbopou (ivory coast), milktree (new hebrides), milkwood (new hebrides), mkunde (kenya), mkuzu (east africa and tanzania), mlulu (tanzania), mumaka (uganda), mutie (ivory coast), namaliava (new hebrides), nambalangawo (new hebrides), napalo (new hebrides), nasausau (new hebrides), nauhula (new hebrides), nevrumbe (new hebrides), nguetyana (senegal), nuwhendama (new hebrides), oepas (java), ofo (ghana and ivory coast), ogiouu, ogiovu (ivory coast and nigeria), oguiovou (nigeria), oostafrikaanse antiaris (east africa and west africa), opputtu (nigeria), oro (ivory coast and nigeria), oro aiyo (nigeria), ovu (nigeria), paliu (sabah), pantjar (java), poisontree (tanzania and uganda), pokok ipoh (west malaysia), pou (ivory coast), pulai (sabah), ripi (uganda), rokobokun (nigeria), sansama (angola and ivory coast), sili (ivory coast), siren (borneo), ssare (west africa), sui (vietnam), suoi (vietnam), tajim (brunei), tanzania antiaris (africa), tenek, terap (west malaysia), tide (ivory coast), tomboiro blanc (ivory coast), tsangu (congo and ivory coast), uganda antiaris (africa and uganda), uganda antiaris (africa), upas (indonesia and malaysia and nigeria and philippines and tanzania and uganda), upas-tree (west malaysia), uppas-tree (burma), vipalakoligi (new hebrides), vutomi (new hebrides), xui (vietnam)
It has also been called the bark cloth tree which refers to the inner bark of chenchen, once used to make a white bark cloth in West Africa.
TYPE:
COLOR: Wood is creamy white or light yellow brown or yellow to yellow-gray, with no distinction between sapwood and heartwood, and it darkens on exposure although I have not seen any reports on how much it darkens.
GRAIN: generally straight but interlocked
TEXTURE: medium to coarse
PROPERTIES / WORKABILITY: a soft, lightweight, fairly weak wood that can be easily dented and marred. It works well except for slight blunting effect due to interlocked grain (and sometimes gummy nature) so cutting edges should be kept very sharp for best results. Saws easily but experts recommend a reduced cutting angle for best results, especially when planing. Boring also can prove difficult due to the interlocked grain. Experts also recommend adequately supporting the wood to prevent any break outs at tool exits due to interlocked grain. It has good screwing and nailing properties,
DURABILITY: easy to treat using either open tank or pressure systems, but wood is perishable and liable to ambrosia beetle and powder-post beetle attack. Very susceptible to sap stain, requires rapid extraction and chemical treatments.
FINISH: can be painted easily and finishes well.
STABILITY: movement in service is rated as small.
BENDING: steam bending is not recommended.
ODOR: no characteristic odor or taste when dry, but has an unpleasant odor when green.
SOURCES: West, Central, and East Africa and some reports include Oceania and S.E. Asia
USES: canoes, veneer and plywood, carving, pulp and paper products, molding, furniture components, joinery, boxes and crates, light construction.
TREE: reaches a height of 120 to 150 feet with cylindrical boles clear to 70 feet and trunk diameters of 2 to 5 feet; sometimes buttressed.
WEIGHT: very light --- ranges from 23 to 33 pounds per cubic foot
DRYING: dries rapidly and has a tendency to distort, particularly twisting. Carefully monitored kiln drying is recommended to reduce the wood’s tendency to warp and split.
AVAILABILITY:
COST:
web quotes:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chenchen is a wood that has been gaining in popularity but is still not widely known. Part of the problem may be that this African wood is known by so many different names. Antiaris and kyenkyen are the most commonly used, but bonkonko, kirundu, oro, ogiovu, ako, andoum, tsangu, akeche, mkuzu, mlulu, and mumaka are also used in various parts of the world.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The comparison between chenchen and iroko is easy to understand when you see them alongside one another. Both woods are very attractive, although iroko is darker.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chenchen trees are easily identified by their distinctive bark, which is smooth and a pale dirty white to yellow with numerous wart-like growths