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MUNINGA

Pterocarpus angolensis, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Pterocarpus indicus
Pterocarpus spp. of the family Fabaceae (syn. Leguminosae) the legume, pea, or bean family

From Southern Africa, Pterocarpus angolensis is also widely sold in the USA as kiaat. It is sometimes used as a teak substitute. The other two species are not sold as kiaat.

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 muninga / Pterocarpus angolensis --- 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


both sides of a sample plank of kiaat / Pterocarpus angolensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet 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


both sides of a sample plank of muninga (kiaat) / Pterocarpus angolensis --- HUGE enlargements are present.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of muninga / Pterocarpus erinaceus --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of muninga / Pterocarpus erinaceus --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of muninga / Pterocarpus cf erinaceus --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The vendor of this sample has it as African kino which is an alternate common name for muninga. The "cf" in the botanical name means this might not be Pterocarpus erinaceus but could possibly be a closely related species with very similar characteristics. Based on the one sample I have of Pterocarpus erinaceus, I would say that although the end grain is pretty close, the color for this sample is quite wrong for that species so I'm just considering this to be Pterocarpus spp.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

web pics:

planks


plank listed as muninga / Pterocarpus angolensis


plank that is clearly curly / fiddleback, although it was not listed as either


both of these pics were labeled kiaat and are from a vendor who tends to show many woods as purple, regardless of the actual color of the wood, so I find the color here to be very dubious.




planks listed as kiaat


pen blanks sold as kiaat


turning stock


scales listed as kiaat


scales listed as kiaat, all from the same vendor


bookmatched flat cut veneer listed as kiaat / Pterocarpus angolensis


turned box

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all of the following are from the BogusColorVendor so the colors are suspect


planks


both sides of a plank and a closeup


both sides of a plank and a closeup


figured plank



both sides and two closeups of a plank labeled as "fiddleback" kiaat. I find the "fiddleback" designation highly dubious. It's clear from the closeup that there are at least some areas on the plank with a tight curl, but this is a very sloppy fiddleback.


platter listed as muninga