English name: Ovengkol
Latin name: Guibourtia ehie
Family: Caesalpiniaceae
Genus: Gilbertiodendron
Other name(s): Ovangkol( Gabon), Ehie, Bubillga, Anokyc, Hyedua, Hycduanini( Ghana), Amazakoue, Amazoue, Whimawe( Ivory Coast, Liberia), Palissandro( Equatorial Guinea), Black Hyedua( Ghana, Nigeria), Osun( Nigeria), Klsese, Ngula( Zaire, Congo), Daniela( Italy), Mozambique( America).
Features: Varying shades of yellowish to reddish brown with darker brown, gray, or black stripes. Moderately wide sapwood is a pale yellow, clearly demarcated from heartwood. Sometimes seen with a curly or mottled grain pattern.
Trees and distribution: Large trees, up to 30m, more than 1m in diameter, distributed in Tropical West Africa.
Material: Grain is straight to slightly interlocked. Medium to coarse texture, with moderate natural luster. Rated as moderately durable, with good resistance to insect attack. Overall a fairly easy wood to work, though Ovangkol contains silica and can therefore dull cutters prematurely. Also, if the grain is interlocked, or if there is other figure present in the wood, planing and other machining operations may be troublesome and cause tearout. Turns, glues and finishes well. Ovangkol is reported to have a strong unpleasant odor when wet, which disappears once the wood has dried.
Applications: Veneer, furniture, cabinetry, turned objects, musical instruments, and flooring.
