Sabicu wood

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Sabicu wood or sabicu is the wood of Lysiloma latisiliquum, a smallish leguminous tree. The wood has a rich mahogany color; it is fairly heavy (sg 0.8), hard and durable, and therefore valued in shipbuilding. Sabicu, on account of its durability, was selected for the stairs of the Great Exhibition of London in 1851, and, notwithstanding the enormous traffic which passed over them, the wood at the end was found to be little affected by wear.

There is some confusion regarding Lysiloma sabicu, an arborescent shrub native to the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, which may reach 12m in height. This species was regarded as part of Lysiloma latisiliquum for a considerable time but is now recognised again as a separate species. Its wood, when available, will be traded as sabicu as well.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.