Mahogany other than Swietenia: Entandrophragma
- Gaskell Guitars Australia
- Sep 5, 2020
- 4 min read
Natively-grown Swietenia (American mahogany) is no longer available in the world market and has been commercially banned since 2003.
Today, American mahogany is grown only in plantations, mainly in Asia and the South Pacific. Plantation mahogany accounts for 100% of world trade. It is very expensive.
See here for an explanation for why this is: https://www.lefthandguitars.net/what-is-mahogany
However, Swietenia is not the only genus in the Meliaceae (Mahogany) family that yields high quality timber. The Meliaceae family consists of 49 genera with approximately 550 species. Some have timber uses and some are even used as direct replacements for Swietenia. Others are merely plants and may only produce fruit, oil and seed often used for medicines or lotions. Of the ones that do yield timber, some include the word "mahogany" in their trade name and others do not. There are two terms to know:
GENUINE MAHOGANY as a term applies to mahogany of the Swietenia genus only, wherever grown.
TRUE MAHOGANY describes the timber of any Mahogany family genus other than Swietenia.
As world trade in genuine mahogany ceased after the commercial ban in the 2000s, other mahogany family timbers took it place, where suitable. Many other mahogany timbers are good tonewoods and quite suitable for the manufacturing of musical instruments such as electric guitars and drums.
Entandrophragma is a genus in the Mahogany family with 11 species, native to tropical Africa. Five of the eleven species have timber uses and are traded individually under different trade names.
Comment: As a guitar builder I find that tonewood of this genus tends to be very "lined" or "striped", similar to Asian mahogany aka Toona.
SAPELE
Entandrophragma cylindricum is the main commercial timber species commonly known as SAPELE or SAPELLI. As a tonewood it is used for backs and sides of acoustic guitars and tops of electric guitars. It is identifiable by having sweeping, striped grain and varies in colour from reddish to purple-brown. Its sound properties are very close to Swietenia and it is stronger than Khaya. Other uses include furniture, cabinetry, flooring, boat building and plywood. Since the early 2000s General Motors USA has been using Sapele laminates as interior wood trim on some Cadillac car models. The USA imports large quantities of Sapele from Cameroon. Other major exporters are Congo, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Sapele is not listed in the CITES Appendices but is now listed on the IUCN Red List as “vulnerable.” Some countries have their own protected populations and felling restrictions in place.
References:
SIPO / UTILE
Entandrophragma utile is the second of the eleven species of African Entandrophragma. Its properties are slightly more closer to Swietenia than it’s Sapelli sibling although visually it is usually slightly less grained. As with Sapelli, it is used as a tone wood, as a direct replacement for Swietenia. Utile is otherwise used for furniture, exterior joinery, construction and boat building. It is more popular in Europe than the United States where instead Sapelli is the dominant of the two. It is native to western and central Africa and is obtained mainly from the Central African Republic, Congo and Ghana. Europe is the main export market. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as “vulnerable.” In Uganda it is almost extinct due to overlogging and exploitation.
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TIAMA
Entandrophragma angolense is the third of the 11 species of Entandrophragma occurring throughout western, central and southern Africa. It also known as TIAMA or GEDU NOHOR. Its colour is brown, often with a purple tint. The wood is used for exterior and interior joinery, furniture, cabinet work, veneer and plywood, and is also used in Africa for flooring, interior trim, panelling, stairs, ship building, vehicle bodies and coffins. It is suitable for light construction, musical instruments, toys, novelties, boxes, crates, carvings and turnery. As a tonewood it has the same uses as Sapele or Sipo and is around the same price. It is exported mainly from Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and Ghana. Most Tiama is exported to Europe. It is included in the IUCN Red list as “vulnerable.”
References:
KOSIPO
Entandrophragma candollei is the fourth of the eleven species of Entandrophragma native to western and central Africa. It's vernacular names are WEST AFRICAN CEDAR, HEAVY SAPELE, and HEAVY MAHOGANY. It is traded as KOSIPO or CANDOLLEI. It is also traded as OMU in the U.K. Wood from this species is used for construction, flooring, exterior and interior joinery, boat building, furniture, cabinet work, toys, boxes, crates and plywood. It is reddish-brown in colour and due to its resemblance to Sapele it is considered a cheaper alternative to the other more expensive Entandrophragma species. It is exported mainly from Republic of Congo, Gabon and Ghana. It is included in the IUCN Red list as “vulnerable.”
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MOUNTAIN MAHOGANY
Entandrophragma caudatum is the fifth of the eleven species of African Entandrophragma occurring in north eastern South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and southern Malawi. It is traded as MOUNTAIN MAHOGANY, BOTTLE TREE or WOODEN BANANA. It’s wood is reddish brown or dark brown and can have nice figure. It is used locally for furniture, cabinet work and canoes. There is no commercial trade of this timber as supply is limited, one reason being that the trees are usually not large enough to yield desirable timber. NOTE: This species is not to be confused with the tree found in California USA, species Cercocarpus, which is unrelated to the mahogany family genus but is also sold as "Mountain Mahogany."
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