Herendeen & Dilcher, 1992, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. African blackwood, also known as Mozambique ebony or grenadilla, is a dense and naturally glossy wood that is considered one of the hardest and densest woods in the world. It is generally cut into small billets or logs with its sharply demarcated bright yellow-white sapwood left on to assist in the slow drying so as to prevent cracks developing. For information, 255 m3 per year of semi-processed billets correspond more or less to 1500 m3 of round wood. It features a dark brown, even purplish heartwood with dark streaks. and more cost effective than wood. I never had this problem with ebony. Dalbergia Melanoxylon. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information. [7] †Dalbergia lucida fossils have been described from the Xiaolongtan Formation of late Miocene age in Kaiyuan County, Yunnan Province, China.[8]. Since the tree grows so slowly, and is generally small and gnarly, available boards tend to be narrow—though large clear sections have occasionally been harvested from older trees that yield bookmatched guitar backs (~8″ wide). Dalbergia melanoxylon. 591 dalbergia melanoxylon products are offered for sale by suppliers on Alibaba.com, of which logs accounts for 1%, vegetable seeds accounts for 1%, and other timber accounts for 1%. Section of wood showing white sapwood and dark heartwood. Dalbergia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Bucculatrix mendax which feeds exclusively on Dalbergia sissoo. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternate, 6–22 cm long, pinnate, with 6-9 alternately arranged leaflets. Images: Drag the slider up/down to toggle between raw and finished wood. in 1992 PBS Nature broadcast a documentary about African Blackwood, “Mpingo: The Three of Music.” I just found it online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUcW1dRH2XQ The demand for this wood for clarinets, oboes, bagpipes etc really has reached a crisis point. African blackwood is most often used in turned objects, where it is considered to be among the very finest of all turning woods—capable of holding threads and other intricate details well. I have an English horn bell which discolored when soaked overnight. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Fl.Seneg. Due to harvesting restrictions on the trees, grenadilla wood is slowly becoming more difficult to procure. In addition, African blackwood is technically in the Rosewood genus (Dalbergia), and is more stable and resistant to movement and warping than other ty… This wood is strong and tough, with color golden to dark brown. If it’s a crude tool for chopping crap down or splitting logs for the fireplace, NO. As far as I understand it, African Blackwood is not endangered. However, there’s a great difference between becoming biologically extinct (what the IUCN measures) versus becoming commercially extinct. Africa. latin: dalbergia melanoxylon origin: eastern africa African Blackwood is an exotic wood native to Eastern Africa, and is also known as Mozambique Ebony or Senegal Ebony. & Perr. Weight Per BF. The Dalbergia species are notorious for causing allergic reactions due to the presence of sensitizing quinones in the wood. This item is made of wood indigenous to Africa, in the early 1900s and is very heavy- heavier than ipe. Identifying and Using Hundreds of Woods Worldwide, POSTER: Worldwide Woods: Ranked by Hardness. A special thanks to Steve Earis for providing the endgrain wood sample and turned photo of this wood species. The piece on the right seems to smell like ebony, but I do not know if smell is a reliable identification. It is most often used in crossbanding and other veneers; it should not be confused with the "tulipwood" of the American tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera, used in inexpensive cabinetwork. Since I am making bridges I don’t really want to use epoxy because it might need to be removed later on for whatever reason. yes it can be but buying all that wood would be highly expensive and how would you even find it during the nighttime? When no more black stuff came off on the rag I re-glued the bridge. found is Cold Steel’s polypropylene sticks. Watch video of wood finish being applied. Yes, the colour is soluble. The bark is pale grey, smooth, but becoming rough and flaking with age. Dalbergia Melanoxylon Wood Knife Scale/Pistol Grips-Bookmatch Blank XLIJI. Dalbergia melanoxylon (also called African Blackwood, Grenadilla, or Mpingo), is a material used to produce musical instruments, especially woodwinds such as the clarinet, because it is one of the hardest (most dense) woods available. To my dismay the bridge on the first one had pulled up off the soundboard before I finished the third one. Hoping it will stay put now. The Megafossil Legumes from China by Gao Shuang-Xing & Zhou Zhe-Kun, Color/Appearance: Often completely black, with little or no discernible grain. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "African blackwood" redirects here. African Blackwood is a great contrasting color embellishment on small turnings like yo-yos and tops. The tree is an important timber species in its native areas; it It’s also reported by the IUCN as being near threatened. [6] Fossil seed pods of †Dalbergia mecsekense have been found in a Sarmatian deposit in Hungary. Species such as Dalbergia nigra known as Rio, Bahia, Brazilian rosewood, palisander de Rio Grande, or jacaranda and Dalbergia latifolia known as (East) Indian Rosewood or Sonokeling have been heavily used in furniture given their colour and grain. It can be easily seasoned. Common Name: African Blackwood. It is an important timber species used in making musical instruments and furniture. : 227, t. 53 (1832); Bak. Usually most common reactions simply include eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. 65-70. The lighter colored sapwood is commonly attacked by powder-post beetles and other borers. Characteristics of African Blackwood. African blackwood is also sometimes known as grenadilla. Also known as African Blackwood, Grenadilla is a tremendously strong wood, making it very durable and less susceptible to cracks. It is a very good material for decorative work and carvings. Fabaceae + Synonyms. I am wondering if African Blackwood would work well for an axe handle considering that it has a fairly low elastic modulus which I am assuming allows the axe to bend more and absorb shock. It is used medicinally to preve… The heartwood of Dalbergia melanoxylon (trade names: African blackwood, African ebony, grenadille d’Afrique, ébène du Sénégal, ébène du Mozambique) was already used by the ancient Egyptians for artefacts and for furniture such as thrones and beds. Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) about 1.08; air-dry density 83 pcf. The most famous of these are the rosewoods, so-named because of the smell of the timber when cut, but several other valuable woods are yielded by the genus. While not at risk biologically, commercially only ten to twenty percent of mature trees are suitable for exportation, and harvesting is frequently done at an unsustainable rate. It is a small tree that grows usually 4 - 15 m in height with grey bark, spiny shoots, pinnately compound leaves that are arranged alternately, and white flowers that form into dense clusters. Africa. Miočenna flóra z lokalit Kalonda a Mučin, Jana Kučerová, ACTA GEOLOGICA SLOVACA, ročnic 1, 1, 2009, str. Guill. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic Dalbergia clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. > Hardwoods > Fabaceae > Dalbergia > melanoxylon, Common Name(s): African blackwood, Mpingo (Swahili), Distribution: Dry savanna regions of central and southern Africa, Average Dried Weight: 79 lbs/ft3 (1,270 kg/m3), Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): 1.08, 1.27, Modulus of Rupture: 30,970 lbf/in2(213.6 MPa), Elastic Modulus: 2,603,000 lbf/in2(17.95 GPa), Crushing Strength: 10,570 lbf/in2(72.9 MPa). ), inlay, carving, tool handles, and other turned objects. It’s that wood is good for build a batiment (a house by exemple) ? 1.2. African blackwood (ABW: Dalbergia melanoxylon) is a valuable tree in Tanzanian local community forests, and heartwood has been mainly utilized as an irreplaceable material in musical instruments, e.g., clarinet, oboe and piccolo. Usually the wood for this purpose is exported semi-processed as billets (page 10/50 of the document) ». Rot Resistance: Heartwood is rated as very durable in regards to decay resistance, though only moderately resistant to insects/borers. Avg. The Ebony of Antiquity – The African blackwood tree is a member of the rosewood family, with taxonomic classification in the family Leguminosae, genus Dalbergia, species melanoxylon. )—both of which can have completely black heartwood. and density of African Black wood and is almost indestructible [9] All but Dalbergia nigra are listed in Appendix II, with D.nigra listed in Appendix I. Dalbergia comprises the following species:[10][11]. African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) 2-3/8" x 2-3/8" x 5-7/8" dense and dark wood - some sapwood - sealed with shellac and ends waxed DavenportWood $ 33.00 Branches are clustered at the nodes. 6.25 lb/ bf. Many species of Dalbergia are important timber trees, valued for their decorative and often fragrant wood, rich in aromatic oils. Do you think the pulling was due to the oil in the wood, or could it be that the blackwood wasn’t fully dry and acclimatized to the moisture level of the surrounding environment? Fluorescence: A Secret Weapon in Wood Identification, Bow Woods (from a mathematical perspective), Brazilian Rosewood, East Indian, and Other Rosewoods, Genuine Lignum Vitae and Argentine Lignum Vitae, BOOK: WOOD! The fruit is a pod with one or two seeds per pod. Country of origin. durability. [2][3][4] The genus has a wide distribution, native to the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia. 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Earis for providing the endgrain wood sample and turned photo of this seemingly in my mind would make it superior! Illustrate anatomical features more clearly musical instruments and furniture Read more » your hands wood in for... Not endangered it takes a fine polish bridge piles, sporting goods, and railway sleepers for an handle!