Guibourtia ehie

Guibourtia ehie
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Guibourtia
Species:	G. ehie
Binomial name
Guibourtia ehie (A.Chev.) J.Léonard

Guibourtia ehie (Hyedua, Black Hyedua, Ovangkol, Amazoué, or Shedua) is a kind of tree—a species of Guibourtia in the family Fabaceae. Native to tropical west Africa, it grows in Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Nigeria. It prefers closed rain forests and transitional forests, often in small groups. It is threatened by habitat loss.^[1][2][3]

It is an evergreen tree that grows to 30–45 m tall, with a trunk 60–75 cm diameter, heavily buttressed at the base, with smooth bark. The leaves are alternate, 5–10 cm long, divided into two leaflets with acuminate apices. The flowers are white, with four sepals and no petals. The fruit is a pod 4–6 cm long and 2.5–3.5 cm broad.^[4][5]

Uses

The wood is heavy, with a density of 0.85 g/cm³; it is used for cabinetry, carving, flooring, joinery, musical instruments, and turnery.^[6] It is durable, and resistant to wood-boring insects.^[5]

It is sometimes used in guitar manufacturing, in the back and sides of acoustic guitar bodies. It is also used as a riser on the "stick" longbow manufactured by Martin Archery. It is a less expensive substitute for Indian rosewood, and is used by well-known guitar and bass manufacturers, such as Yamaha (Japan) on some moderately-priced models, Taylor (USA), Esteve, Turner (UK), Warwick (Germany), Framus (Germany), Warmoth (USA), Alhambra (Spain), Ibanez (Japan), and Yairi (Japan).

References