Sapele

Sapele
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Meliaceae
Genus:	Entandrophragma
Species:	E. cylindricum
Binomial name
Entandrophragma cylindricum Harms

Sapele, Sapelli or Aboudikro (Entandrophragma cylindricum) is a large tree, up to 45 m high (rarely 60 m), native to tropical Africa. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long. The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences when the tree is leafless, each flower about 5 mm diameter, with five yellowish petals. The fruit is a pendulous capsule about 10 cm long and 4 cm broad; when mature it splits into five sections to release the 15-20 seeds.

Uses

An array mbira made of sapele wood

The commercially important wood is reminiscent of mahogany, with a distinctive figure, typically applied where figure is important. It is sought after as flooring for its durability and beautiful graining. Among its more exotic uses is that in guitar manufacturing, in the top, back and sides of acoustic guitar bodies as well as the tops of electric guitar bodies, for example by well known guitar manufacturers such as Ibanez (Japan/USA), Taylor (USA), Martin (USA), Larrivée (Canada) and Esteve (Spain). Sapele is also chosen for the neck piece of ukuleles due to its pleasant aesthetic quality, such manufacturers include Hawaiian companies Kamaka and Koaloha. Late in the 90s, it started to be used as a board for Basque percussion instrument txalaparta on the strength of the livelier quality of the sound. It is also used by American car maker Cadillac for interior wood trim on its vehicles with advertising for the Cadillac CTS highlighting the phrase "Sapele wood accents." The wood has a density of 640kg per cubic meter^[1].

found in australia

Conservation measures

Sapele Tree, Congo Basin

There are protected populations and felling restrictions in place in various countries.

References

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