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Aucoumea klaineana
Also called Gabon Mahogany
Aucoumea klaineana (angouma, gaboon, or okoumé) is a tree in the family Burseraceae, native to equatorial west Africa in Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and Río Muni. It is a large hardwood tree growing to 30–40 m (100–130 feet) tall, rarely larger, with a trunk 1.0–2.5 m (3.5–8 feet) diameter above the often large basal buttresses. The tree generally grows in small stands, with the roots of the trees intertwined with neighboring trees. In Gabon, it is the primary timber species.
It is a weak wood, with low decay resistance and moderate dimensional stability. The major use of gaboon is in the manufacture of plywood. It is about 8–12% lighter than the other main marine plywood, meranti, that is commonly used in boatbuilding, but is not as stiff. This is useful when a boat design calls for tight-radius bends, such as near the bow in a single chine design, because of its flexibility. However, it does not resist impact damage as well as meranti. It is often sheathed in epoxy resin to increase strength and give more impact and abrasion resistance, and to increase water resistance over conventional marine enamel paints. It is often used in sandwich construction with epoxy binder.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aucoumea klaineana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
