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GOMBé (Didelotia letouzeyi)

Trade Name

Gombé

Scientific Name

Didelotia letouzeyi Pellegr.

Family

LEGUMINOSAE

Common Names

Timba (Sierra Leone); Bondu (Liberia); Broutou (Côte d`Ivoire); Angok (Gabon); Ekop-gombé (Cameroon); Gombé

Description Of The Tree

Botanical Description

The tree may reach a height of 50 m, with diameters from 100 to 170 cm. The bole is clear to 26 m, straight and cylindrical. The buttresses are thick and usually short.

Natural Habitat

Didelotia letouzeyi occurs in mixed virgin forests, but never in great quantities.

Wood Identification

Anatomic Description Of Wood

Wood diffuse porous. Occasionally vessels exclusively solitary (over 90%). Tangential diameter of vessel lumina 200 micras or more (large). Vestured pits. Vessels per mm2 less than 6 (rare). Simple perforation plates. Vessel-ray pits similar to intervessel pits Occasionally axial parenchyma in marginal or in seemingly marginal bands. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty and/or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma lozenge-aliform. Prismatic crystals in chambered axial parenchyma cells and/or in fibers. 3 to 4 cells per pare Rays more than 10 per mm (abundant). Rays and/or axial elements irregularly storied. Rays non-storied. Rays exclusively uniseriate. Homogeneous rays and/or sub-homogeneous rays (all ray cells procumbent). Body ray cells procumbent with one row of upright and/o Non-septate fibers. Fibers with simple to minutely bordered pits.

  • Wood Macro Photo Tangential Plane
  • Wood Micro Photo Of Transversal Section

Availability

Cites Status

Unrestricted

General Wood Description

Color

The sapwood is red-brown to pale brown, it has a thickness of 5 to 7.5 cm. The heartwood is pale red-brown with a greenish tint near the sapwood, it is clearly demarcated.

COLOR INDEX (1=Black, 7=Light yellow,white)

5

Grain

Straight or slightly interlocked; grain has no particular influence on drying, machining and finishing qualities.

Texture

The wood is mostly coarse in texture.

Luster

Luster is reported to be low.

Natural Durability

Slightly durable to decay. This species needs preservative treatment for uses with risks of occasional re-humidification. It is not suited for uses with risks of permanent or long-lasting humidification. Sensible to termites attack. The heartwood is resistant

Natural durability index (1= Very high durability, 7=Vey low durability)

6

Internal Growth Stresses

For this species no growth stresses are reported.

Resistance To Impregnation

Difficult to treat with only a low penetration of the preservative products.

Wood Physical Properties

Basic Density or Specific Gravity (O.D. weight/vol. green) (g/cm³)

0.59

Air-dry Density (Weight and volume at 12%MC) (g/cm³)

0.65

Total shrinkage Tangential (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)

8.4

Total shrinkage Radial (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)

4.9

Drying Defects

Ease of Drying: It takes about 4 months to air dry boards 15 mm thick. Kiln Schedules: For kiln drying, a temperature of 40.5 to 65.5 degrees is recommended with corresponding relative humidity of 85% to 40%.

Recommended Dry Kiln Schedule

FR-7

Dimensional stability ratio (Total Tangential Shrinkage %/Total Radial Shrinkage %)

1.7

Wood Chemical Properties

Wood Mechanical Properties

Bending Strength (MOR),12%MC (kgf/cm²)

947

Stiffness (MOE) 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

152274

Compression parallel to fiber 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

561

Compression perpendicular to fiber 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

72

Shear strength radial 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

73

Janka hardness (side) 12%MC (kgf)

523

Janka hardness (end grain) 12%MC (kgf)

624

Workability

Sawing

It is easy to saw.

Rotary Veneer Cutting

Suitable for slicing, also suitable for peeling if treated.

Sliced Veneer

Suitable for slicing, also suitable for peeling if treated.

Blunting Effect

Slight blunting effect; ordinary tools can be used for sawing and machining.

Machining

Machining of this species is reportedly easy.

Planing

Moderately easy; tools must be cautiously sharpened.

Moulding

Easy; no particular problems.

Boring

Easy; no particular problems.

Mortising

Easy; no particular problems.

Nailing

Pre-boring is necessary.

Gluing

Glues well if basic gluing technical rules are followed.

Sanding

Easy to perform; it gives good results.

Polishing

Needs pre-coating.

Steam Bending

This species can be used for steam bending.

Response To Hand Tools

No particular problems.

REFERENCED USES

End Uses Summary

HOUSING GENERAL, beams, joists, boards, flooring, parquet, frames, steps, panelling, fittings, shutter boards, FURNITURE AND CABINETS, common furniture, PLYWOOD AND VENEER, faces, Decorative veneer, PACKING, heavy packing, pallets, CONTAINERS, truck bodies, truck flooring

General Housing
  • 10 - Silica in Timbers
Beams
  • 11 - Prospect: The wood database
Joists
  • 12 - Tropical timbers of the world. Part I-Tropical American Species
Boards
  • 13 - Dry kiln schedules for commercial woods. Temperate and tropical. Section III. Latin American (Mexico, Central, and South America) Woods–Conventional Temperatures
Flooring
  • 14 - Handbook of Hardwoods
Parquet
  • 15 - Empire Timbers
Frames
  • 16 - Woods of the World
Steps
  • 17 - Tree Conservation Database
Paneling
  • 18 - W3TROPICOS Missouri Botanical Garden
Fittings
  • 19 - Silica in Timbers
Shutter Boards
  • 20 - Prospect: The wood database
Furniture Cabinets
  • 21 - Tropical timbers of the world. Part III-Southeast Asian and Oceanian Species.
Furniture, Common
  • 23 - Handbook of Hardwoods
Panels, Veneers
  • 25 - Directory of Timber Trade Malaysia
Faces
  • 26 - Annual Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation 1998-ITTO
Decorative veneer
  • 28 - Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forest of Fiji
Packing
  • 45 - Recopilación y Análisis de Estudios Tecnológicos de Maderas Peruanas
Heavy Packing
  • 47 - Arvores Brasileiras
Pallets
  • 48 - The strength properties of timbers
Truck Body
  • 53 - Timbers of the New World
Truck Flooring
  • 54 - Bulletin of the Government Forest Experiment Station N.157: Identification of Tropical Woods

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