Sapele

Grain is slightly interlocked, producing an irregularly striped ribbon figure on quartersawn surfaces. Medium to fine uniform texture. Heartwood is golden to reddish brown. Fairly well defined sapwood is a contrasting pale brown. Moderate rot and insect resistant.

Grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture, Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with a reddish cast. Paler sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Quartersawn sections display prominent ray fleck patterns. Rated as non-durable to perishable, with poor insect resistance. Can become discolored and stained when in contact with water, Produces good results with hand and machine tools, though it has fairly high shrinkage values, resulting in mediocre dimensional stability, especially in flat sawn boards.