Entandrophragma cylindricum is a tree of the genus Entandrophragma of the family Meliaceae. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli (/səˈpiːliː/sə-PEE-lee) or sapele mahogany,[2] as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu.
The name sapele comes from that of the city of Sapele in Nigeria, where there is a preponderance of the tree. African Timber and Plywood (AT&P), a division of the United Africa Company, had a factory at this location where the wood, along with Triplochiton scleroxylon, Obeche, mahogany, and Khaya was processed into timber which was then exported from the Port of Sapele worldwide.
The name of the city itself is said to be an anglicisation of the Urhobo word Uriapele, commemorating a local deity. It is believed the British colonial authorities changed the name of the then hamlet to Sapele as it was easier to pronounce.
Descriptionedit
Entandrophragma cylindricum is native to tropical Africa.[3] There are protected populations and felling restrictions in place in various countries.
The species grows to a height of up to 45 m. In Ghana it has been reported to reach 198 feet (sixty meters) in height.[4] The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long. The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences when the tree is leafless, each flower about 5 mm diameter, with five yellowish petals. The fruit is a pendulous capsule about 10 cm long and 4 cm broad; when mature it splits into five sections to release the 15-20 seeds.[5]
This commercially important hardwood is reminiscent of mahogany, and is a part of the same Meliaceae family. It is darker in tone and has a distinctive figure, typically applied where figure is important. Sapele is particularly prized for a lustrous iridescence with colors that range from light pink to brown and gold to red. It has a high density of 640 kg/m3 and interlocked grain, which can make machining somewhat difficult. Demand for sapele increased as a mahogany substitute in recent years due to genuine mahogany becoming a CITES Appendix II listed species.[6] It is used in the manufacture of furniture, joinery, veneers, luxury flooring, musical instruments, and boat building.
Among its more exotic uses is in musical instruments. It is used for the back and sides (and sometimes top) of acoustic guitar bodies, as well as the bodies of electric guitars. It is also used in manufacturing the neck piece of ukuleles and 26- and 36-string harps. In the late 1990s, it started to be used as a board for Basque percussion instruments txalaparta.
Referencesedit
^Hawthorne, W. (1998). "Entandrophragma cylindricum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T33051A9753619. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T33051A9753619.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Media related to Entandrophragma cylindricum at Wikimedia Commons
December 15, 2023
sapele, city, nigeria, delta, entandrophragma, cylindricum, tree, genus, entandrophragma, family, meliaceae, commonly, known, sapele, sapelli, sapele, mahogany, well, aboudikro, assi, muyovu, sapele, near, brazzaville, republic, congoconservation, statusvulner. For the city in Nigeria see Sapele Delta Entandrophragma cylindricum is a tree of the genus Entandrophragma of the family Meliaceae It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli s e ˈ p iː l iː se PEE lee or sapele mahogany 2 as well as aboudikro assi and muyovu SapeleA sapele near Brazzaville Republic of the CongoConservation statusVulnerable IUCN 2 3 1 Scientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade EudicotsClade RosidsOrder SapindalesFamily MeliaceaeGenus EntandrophragmaSpecies E cylindricumBinomial nameEntandrophragma cylindricumHarms Contents 1 Origin of the name 2 Description 3 Uses 4 References 5 External linksOrigin of the name editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sapele news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The name sapele comes from that of the city of Sapele in Nigeria where there is a preponderance of the tree African Timber and Plywood AT amp P a division of the United Africa Company had a factory at this location where the wood along with Triplochiton scleroxylon Obeche mahogany and Khaya was processed into timber which was then exported from the Port of Sapele worldwide The name of the city itself is said to be an anglicisation of the Urhobo word Uriapele commemorating a local deity It is believed the British colonial authorities changed the name of the then hamlet to Sapele as it was easier to pronounce Description editEntandrophragma cylindricum is native to tropical Africa 3 There are protected populations and felling restrictions in place in various countries The species grows to a height of up to 45 m In Ghana it has been reported to reach 198 feet sixty meters in height 4 The leaves are deciduous in the dry season alternately arranged pinnate with 5 9 pairs of leaflets each leaflet about 10 cm long The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences when the tree is leafless each flower about 5 mm diameter with five yellowish petals The fruit is a pendulous capsule about 10 cm long and 4 cm broad when mature it splits into five sections to release the 15 20 seeds 5 Uses edit nbsp An array mbira made of sapele woodThis commercially important hardwood is reminiscent of mahogany and is a part of the same Meliaceae family It is darker in tone and has a distinctive figure typically applied where figure is important Sapele is particularly prized for a lustrous iridescence with colors that range from light pink to brown and gold to red It has a high density of 640 kg m3 and interlocked grain which can make machining somewhat difficult Demand for sapele increased as a mahogany substitute in recent years due to genuine mahogany becoming a CITES Appendix II listed species 6 It is used in the manufacture of furniture joinery veneers luxury flooring musical instruments and boat building Among its more exotic uses is in musical instruments It is used for the back and sides and sometimes top of acoustic guitar bodies as well as the bodies of electric guitars It is also used in manufacturing the neck piece of ukuleles and 26 and 36 string harps In the late 1990s it started to be used as a board for Basque percussion instruments txalaparta References edit Hawthorne W 1998 Entandrophragma cylindricum IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1998 e T33051A9753619 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 1998 RLTS T33051A9753619 en Retrieved 19 November 2021 Wood database Entandrophragma cylindricum World Forestry Taylor E J Ph D 1960 Synecology and Silviculture in Ghana Edenburgh Scotland Thomas Nelson and Sons p 191 Sapele The Wood Database Mahogany Mixups the Lowdown The Wood DatabaseExternal links edit nbsp Media related to Entandrophragma cylindricum at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sapele amp oldid 1167472530, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
