TRADE NAME

DIBETOU

 

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Lovoa trichilioides Harms (= Lovoa klaineana Pierre)

 

FAMILY

Meliaceae

 

 

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION

West Africa – Central Africa

Sierra Leone : WNAIMEI
Ivory Coast : DIBETOU
Ghana : DUBINI-BIRI, MPENGWA
Nigeria : APOPO, SIDA, ANAMENILA
Cameroon : BIBOLO
Gabon : EYAN
Zaire : LIFAKI-MUINDU, BOMBULU
Equat. Guinea : NIVERO, EMBERO
Great Britain : AFRICAN WALNUT, TIGERWOOD
U.S.A : TIGERWOOD, CONGOWOOD
France : NOYER D’AFRIQUE, NOYER DU GABON

Pr. = REGUL. Ex. = FREQ.

 

 

SAPWOOD

Light grey to light yellow – clearly demarcated – up to 7 cm.

 

HEARTWOOD

  • Colour : Grey-brown to yellow-brown, sometimes with dark veins
  • Grain : Slightly interlocked
  • Texture : Fine to medium
  • Silver figure : Fine
  • Ribbon figure when quartered. Black deposits in pores

 

 

TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

  • Green weight (kg/m3) = 750 – 850
  • Specific gravity at 12% M.C. (kg/m3) MV12 = (light) 530
  • Volumetric swelling for 1% MC variation V% = 0.43
  • Total tangential swelling T% = 6.1
  • Total radial swelling R% = 3.8
  • Crushing strength (N/mm2) C12 = 47
  • Static bending strength (N/mm2) F12 = 100
  • Modulus of elasticity (N/mm2) E12 = 8400

 

 

END USE

  • Furniture and cabinet work
  • Decorative sliced veneers
  • Interior and exterior joinery
  • Turnery
  • Peeled veneers for plywood faces

 

 

REMARKS

  • Natural durability : Moderate
  • Lyctus susceptibility : No
  • Preservative treatment : Resistant
  • Other remarks :
    – In East Africa, Lovoa brownii Sprague and L. swynnertonii Bak. f. are both commercialized under the trade name DIBETOU (Uganda = MUKUSU,- Kenya = MUKONGORO, Great Britain = UGANDA WALNUT). Somewhat heavier and harder.
    – Possible confusions with real WALNUT because of vernacular nomenclature AFRICAN WALNUT.