SCIENTIFIC NAME
Berchemia zeyheri. Derivation: The genus name is in honor of van Berchem (I720 to 1778), a French botanist. The specific epithet is in honor of Jean Michel Zeyher (I770 to 1845), a botanist who collected plants in Africa with English botanist Joseph Burke (d. 1845). A synonym is Rhamnus zeyheri.

FAMILY
Rhamnaceae, the buckthorn family.

OTHER NAMES
red ivorywood, red ivory, umnini, umgoloti.

DISTRIBUTION
Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and scatterings in other parts of southern Africa.

THE TREE
Pink ivory is a deciduous tree with a spreading crown that varies in height from under 20 feet to over 50 feet. The boles are usually 7 to 9 inches in circumference. The bark is smooth and gray, but becomes darker when fully grown and rough near the base. The elliptic leaves are generally opposite, without hairs, 0.5 to 1.5 inches long and 0.75 to 1 inch wide. The flowers are small and greenish-yellow in color. The fruit is a small, ellipsoidal (0.5 by 0.75 inch) black berry very similar in appearance to the fruit of the buckthorn.

THE TIMBER
The wood is uniformly bright pink or pale red. The sapwood is almost white, and the pink heartwood, after long exposure, tends to become orange or orange-brown in color. The luster is low, and odor and taste are not distinct. It is hard and heavy, with an average specific gravity of 0.78 (ovendry weight/green volume), equivalent to an air dried weight of 62 pef. The grain is straight to irregular, while the texture is very fine. The rays are so close together they are not easily seen. This timber is reported to be very strong and stiff.

SEASONING .
pink ivory seasons very slowly and needs some care to prevent checking. Shrinkage values are not available.

DURABILITY
The Zimbabwe Forestry Commission reports that this wood has "excellent" durability. No other information was reported.

WORKABILITY
It is difficult to work with hand tools, but is an excellent wood for turnery and carving. Pink ivory takes a high polish.

USES
Pink ivory cannot be considered a commercial timber because the trees are so scattered exploitation would be too costly a process. The small quantities that are felled are used for fancy articles, inlaid work, small turned goods and carving.

SUPPLIES
Pink ivory is one of the rarest wood species to obtain. When available from special sources in small quantities, it commands a exceedingly high price and is usually sold by weight.

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