SCI Joinery Gallery
Timbers - Tropical Timbers

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English name, Meranti. Also known as White, Yellow, Light red, Red, Dark red. Each of the mentioned colours can include many varieties in itself.

Latin name, Shorea.

Uses, various uses from decorative internal work to heavy constructional work.

Native region, South-east Asia, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Remarks, The Latin name Shorea comes from Sir John Shore, Governer-General of the British East India Company 1793-1798. The name Meranti can be a bit misleading, as the name actually refers to a group of almost 200 hundred trees. From those only 6 are not high on the endangered list. This can make buying Meranti very hard, not reliably being able to find out which variety is being bought. The timber is also used in plywoods, doors, windows and numerous other products not always clearly labelled. The weight of Meranti can also greatly vary from very light weight to extremely heavy.

English name, Bongossi. Also known as Azobe, Kaku, or Red ironwood.

Latin name, Lophira alata.

Uses, Heavy constructional timber, railway sleepers, can be used in direct contact with soil, fresh water or sea water.

Native region, Central Africa, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Uganda.

Remarks, An extremely strong, nice looking timber, very good against decay and insect attack. When freshly worked it has a very pungent aroma which can linger for a long time, which can be a bit off-putting. It is considered to be threatened on the endangered list.

English name, Sapele. Also known as Sapelli or Aboudikro.

Latin name, Entandrophragma cylindricum.

Uses, Flooring, guitar making, neck pieces of ukuleles, electric guitars, car interiors and various other uses.

Native region, Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda.

Remarks, Very nice deep red decorative timber, This timber is considered to be vulnerable on the endangered list.

English name, Bangkirai.

Latin name, Shorea laevis.

Uses, Heavy construction both indoors and outdoors, decking, boat building.

Native region, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Remarks, Lower risk on the endangered list. Splinters from this timber can very painful and difficult to remove.

English name, Teak.

Latin name, Tectona grandis.

Uses, Construction of windows, doors or furniture.

Native region, South-east Asia, India, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Remarks, Teak is a name that also covers a wide variety of timbers. Some other trees which don’t even belong to the same species are also called Teak which can confuse buyers.

English name, Mahogany. Also known as American, Cuban, Small-leaved, West Indian, Honduras Mahogany and many more different names.

Latin name, Swietenia mahagoni.

Uses, Furniture, musical instruments, boat building, constructional uses.

Native region, Central America, Caribbean Islands.

Remarks, Also a very confusing timber. A lot of timbers are given the name Mahogany even though they don’t even belong to the species. Some of the so called Mahogany’s belong to the Shorea species. At one time the name Honduras Mahogany could mean any tree that came through the port in British Honduras! The timbers can range from critically endangered to endangered.