Uses: The main use for zebrano is as sliced decorative veneers for small cabinetwork, flush doors, cross bandings or inlay bandings, fancy goods, marquetry and panelling. Bundles of this veneer tend to buckle unless kept under weights. Also used by turners and carvers for decorative work.
General Description: The heartwood is a light golden-yellow with narrow veining or streaks of dark brown to almost black, giving the quartered surfaces a zebra-stripe appearance. The grain is interlocked or wavy and produces alternating hard and soft grained material which makes the timber difficult to work. Zebrano has a coarse texture and a lustrous surface. Weight 740 kg/m³ (46 lb/ft³); specific gravity .74.
This hard, heavy, stable timber is mainly used for decorative purposes due to its nature, where strength and mechanical properties are unimportant.
The material is difficult to dry and requires care in order to avoid surface checking, splitting and distortion. There is small movement in service.
Non-durable. Liable to attack by insects, and resistant to preservative treatment.
Family Name: Leguminosae
Latin Name: Microberlinia brazzavillensis,
Distribution: West Africa, chiefly Gabon and Cameroon Republic.
Also known as: Zingana (France, Gabon); zebrawood (UK, USA); allene, ele, amouk (Cameroon).