Azobe (Ekki)
Azobe or ekki (Lophira
alata) is found in West
Africa and extends into
the Congo basin.
The heartwood is dark
red, chocolate–brown, or
purple–brown with con-
spicuous white deposits
in the pores (vessels). The texture is coarse, and the grain
is usually interlocked. The wood is strong, and its density
averages about 1,120 kg m–3 (70 lb ft–3) at 12% moisture
content. It is very difficult to work with hand and machine
tools, and tools are severely blunted if the wood is ma-
chined when dry. Azobe can be dressed to a smooth finish,
and gluing properties are usually good. Drying is very dif-
ficult without excessive degrade, and the heartwood is ex-
tremely resistant to preservative treatment. The heartwood
is rated as very durable against decay, resistant to teredo
attack, but only moderately resistant to termites. Azobe is
very resistant to acid and has good weathering properties.
Azobe is excellent for heavy construction work, harbor con-
struction, heavy-duty flooring, and railroad crossties.
Bagtikan
(see Seraya, White)
Balata
Balata or bulletwood
(Manilkara bidentata)
is widely distributed
throughout the West
Indies, Central America,
and northern South
America.
The heartwood of balata
is light to dark reddish
brown and not sharply demarcated from the pale brown
sapwood. Texture is fine and uniform, and the grain is
straight to occasionally wavy or interlocked. Balata is a
strong and very heavy wood; density of air-dried wood is
1,060 kg m–3 (66 lb ft–3). It is generally difficult to air dry,
with a tendency to develop severe checking and warp. The
wood is moderately easy to work despite its high density,
and it is rated good to excellent in all machining operations.
Balata is very resistant to attack by decay fungi and highly
resistant to subterranean termites but only moderately resis-
tant to dry-wood termites.
Balata is suitable for heavy construction, textile and pulp-
mill equipment, furniture parts, turnery, tool handles, floor-
ing, boat frames and other bentwork, railroad crossties,
violin bows, billiard cues, and other specialty uses.more distinctly reddish and frequently shows wide purplish
bands is called “angelique rouge.” The texture of the wood
is somewhat coarser than that of black walnut (Juglans
nigra), and the grain is generally straight or slightly inter-
locked. In strength, angelique is superior to teak (Tectona
grandis) and white oak (Quercus alba), when green or air
dry, in all properties except tension perpendicular to grain.
Angelique is rated as highly resistant to decay and resistant
to marine borer attack. Machining properties vary and may
be due to differences in density, moisture content, and silica
content. After the wood is thoroughly air or kiln dried, it
can be worked effectively only with carbide-tipped tools.
The strength and durability of angelique make it espe-
cially suitable for heavy construction, harbor installations,
bridges, heavy planking for pier and platform decking, and
railroad bridge ties. The wood is also suitable for ship deck-
ing, planking, boat frames, industrial flooring, and parquet
blocks and strips.
Apa
(see Wallaba)
Apamate
(see Roble)
Apitong
(see Keruing)
Avodire
Avodire (Turraeanthus
africanus) has a rather
extensive range in Africa,
from Sierra Leone west-
ward to the Congo region
and southward to Zaire
and Angola. It is most
common in the eastern
region of the Ivory Coast
and is scattered elsewhere. Avodire is a medium-size tree of
the rainforest where it forms fairly dense but localized and
discontinuous timber stands.
The wood is cream to pale yellow with high natural lus-
ter; it eventually darkens to a golden yellow. The grain is
sometimes straight but more often wavy or irregularly in-
terlocked, which produces an unusual and attractive mottled
figure when sliced or cut on the quarter. Although avodire
weighs less than northern red oak (Quercus rubra), it has
almost identical strength properties except that it is lower
in shock resistance and shear. The wood works fairly eas-
ily with hand and machine tools and finishes well in most
operations.
Figured material is usually converted into veneer for use in
decorative work, and it is this kind of material that is chiefly
imported into the United States. Other uses include furni-
ture, fine joinery, cabinetwork, and paneling.
General Technical Report FPL–GTR– 190