Region: tropical Africa, Sierra Leone to Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Uganda, south to northern Angola.
Habitat: riverine, gallery and rain-forest; elevations from 200 - 500 metres
Use: wood for industrial flooring, heavy carpentry, interior panelling, joinery, turnery, sliced veneer; wood for fuel.
BotanyTree; dense, rounded crown; 50 metres tall.
Stem: straight, cylindrical, unbranched for up to 20 metres; 120cm in diameter; sometimes with tall, narrow buttresses; heartwood is light brown with pink or ochre shades, not clearly demarcated from the sapwood. texture is medium, grain straight, sometimes wavy; wood is heavy, moderately hard to hard, moderately durable, resistant to termites, susceptible to fungi and dry wood borers, slow to season with a high risk of checking or distortion; wood works well with powered tools, but stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; nailing and screwing are good, but pre-boring is necessary; gluing is correct for interior purposes.