SCIENTIFIC NAME
Guibourtia tessmannii. Derivation: The genus name is in honor of N. J. B. Guibourt (1790 to 1861), a French pharmacologist who wrote a history of plants used for medicine (economic plants). The specific epithet is in honor of Gunther Tessmann (1904 to 1926), an ethnologist and South American plant collector.

FAMILY
Fabaceae or Leguminosae, the legume family; (Caesalpiniaceae) the cassia group.

OTHER NAMES
African rosewood, eban, kevazingo, kssingang, amazakone, akume.

DISTRIBUTION
Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast.

THE TREE
Bubinga is a large tree that commonly exceeds 100 feet in height with a clear bole that is 30 to 60 feet long and 3 feet in diameter. The base of the tree is heavily buttressed, The alternate compound leaves are 4 inches long and consist of two asymmetrical leaf. lets that are about 2 inches long and are similar in appearance to butterfly wings.

THE TIMBER
The heartwood of bubinga is light reddish-brown attractively veined with pink or red stripes; the sapwood is paler in color. The wood is very hard and heavy. Average reported specific gravity ranges from 0.65 to 0.78 (ovendry weight/green volume, equivalent to an air-dried weight of 51 to 62 pef. It is fine in texture, and the luster is high. Odor and taste are not distinct. The grain is wavy.

SEASONING
The key to effective seasoning is to dry slowly. Average reported shrinkage values (green to ovendry) are 4.0% to 7.6% radial, 6.6% to 10.2% tangential and 9.4% to 16.6% volumetric.

DURABILlTY
Bubinga is highly resistant to the termites in West Africa and moderately resistant to marine borers.

WORKABILITY
Although hard and heavy, bubinga can be sawn without difficulty, and it takes a fine finish. When rotary cut for veneer, it is sometimes called kevazingo, which most often comes from Gabon and is highly figured.

USES
Bubinga is used mostly in veneer form for decorative paneling and inlay work but also finds some use for up-scale furniture and fancy turnery work.

SUPPLIES
Bubinga is imported into the United States and is available in lumber form. The imported logs are of tremendous size, some weighing as much as 10 tons. Another timber belonging to the same botanical genus as bubinga is benge (G. amo/diana WDS 134), but it is finer textured and differs markedly with respect to color. It too is available on the American market. These timbers are in the medium to high price range.

Information from A Guide to Useful Woods of the World, Second Edition, James H. Flynn, Jr. and Charles D. Holder, Editors. Forest Products Society, Madison, Wisconsin, 2001.

Photographs from MDArtworks