Afrormosia (Pericopsis elata)

Afrormosia is an imported hardwood

Location

Afrormosia or kokrodua (Pericopsis elata), a large West African tree, is sometimes used as a substitute for teak (Tectona grandis).

Characteristics

The heartwood is fine textured, with straight to interlocked grain. The wood is brownish yellow with darker streaks and moderately hard and heavy, weighing about 700 kg/m3 (43 lb/ft3) at 15% moisture content. The wood strongly resembles teak in appearance but lacks its oily nature and has a different texture. The wood dries readily with little degrade and has good dimensional stability. It is somewhat heavier and stronger than teak. The heartwood is highly resistant to decay fungi and termite attack and is extremely durable under adverse conditions.

Primary Uses

Afrormosia is often used for the same purposes as teak, such as boat construction, joinery, flooring, furniture, interior woodwork, and decorative veneer.

*Much of the base wood information presented here is made available by the USDA FPL FS. If you are interested in a much more technical description of wood properties, I encourage you to visit the source.