IZOMBE
BOTANICAL NAME: Testulea gabonensis of the family Ochnaceae

COMMON NAMES: akewe (gabon), isombe, izombe, magnenti, mogongou, mugongu, n'gwaki, n'komi, ngron, rone, zombe

TYPE:

COLOR: The heartwood varies from orange-yellow, gray-yellow, to pinkish-yellow with a gray hue, or may be yellowish brown. The sapwood is lighter colored but not well demarcated from the heartwood.

The sapwood is prone to develop blue stain.

GRAIN / TEXTURE / FILLER / FINISH / LUSTER: Grain is straight (occasionally may be lightly interlocked), texture is fine and even, finishing and polishing qualities are rated as uniformly good, although rare gum presence can cause problems.

PROPERTIES / WORKABILITY: A moderately heavy, dense wood with medium bending strength, high crushing strength, works easily with hand and machine tools, has little resitance to cutting and only a slight blunting effect on cutting edges. Planes well, moulds well, bores easily, routes easily, mortises well, easy to glue and nail, holds nails well, screws well, turns and carves well, sands well, suitable for veneer.

DURABILITY: Heartwood has high durability and is resistant to termites and powder post beetles. Satisfactory weathering properties. Both heartwood and sapwood are resistant to preservative treatments.

STABILITY: Movement in Service is low to medium

BENDING: Steam bending properties are rated as moderate.

ODOR / TASTE: There is no distinct odor or taste.

SOURCES: Scattered distribution in dense primary forests and transitional formations in parts of Africa including Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and South Africa.

USES: boat building (general), boxes and crates, brush backs, brush handles, building materials, cabinetmaking, cabinets, carving, carvings, chairs, chests, clogs, concealed parts (furniture), cooperages, decorative veneer, desks, dining-room furniture, domestic flooring, door frames, dowells, drawer sides, excelsior, figured veneer, fine furniture, floor lamps, flooring, flooring: industrial heavy traffic, furniture components, furniture, hatracks, heavy construction, interior construction, interior trim, joinery, kitchen cabinets, light construction, living-room suites, mathematical instruments, millwork, mine timbers, moldings, office furniture, paneling, parquet flooring, plywood corestock, plywood, rustic furniture, skis, stools, sub-flooring, tables, toys, trimming, turnery, utility furniture, veneer, veneer: decorative, wainscotting, wardrobes, window framing, windows, woodwork,

TREE: Reaches a height of 120 ft; bole straight, cylindrical and clear to 30 to 60 ft; trunk diameters 3 to 4 ft over thick well formed buttresses. Boles are well formed and clear of branches to 30 to 60 feet.

NATURAL GROWTH DEFECTS: gum/resin exudation; sapwood is prone to blue stain.

WEIGHT: about 45lbs/ft3

DRYING: Dries easily with little or no degrade, sometimes including surface checking, collapse, and distortion. Shrinkage during drying is Radial 3%, Tangential 6%, Volumetric 10%.

AVAILABILITY: moderate

COST: moderate

TOXICITY: none reported

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