Opepe

Durability:

The sapwood is liable to attack by powder post beetle. Moderately resistant to termites in West Africa. The heartwood is very durable, moderately resistant to preservative treatment but the sapwood is permeable. Opepe has a high resistance to marine borers.

Mechanical Properties:

An exceptionally strong timber with medium bending strength and stiffness; it has high crushing strength and low resistance to shock loads and a poor steam bending classification.

Seasoning:

Quartered material dries fairly rapidly with very little checking or distortion; flat sawn timber is more refractory and checking and splitting and distortion may occur. In large sizes it dries very slowly. There is small movement in service.

Uses:

  • Piling and decking in wharves and docks, jetty and marine work, boat building (except for bent parts), general construction work, exterior and interior joinery, domestic flooring, wagon bottoms, furniture, cabinet work and decorative turnery
  • Selected logs are sliced for very attractive veneers for panelling and decorative veneering
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Description

The heartwood is an orange-brown colour with a copper coloured lustre. The grain is mostly interlocked producing a striped or roll figure when quartered, sometimes with irregular grain. The texture is fairly coarse due to large pores. A reasonable proportion of straight grained material is obtained by grading. Weighs 740 kg/m³ (46 lb/ft³); specific gravity .74.

Additional information

Latin Name

Nauclea diderrichii

Family Name

Rubiaceae

Distribution

West Africa

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