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Guibourtia tessmannii - (Harms) J.L'onard

Common Name Bubinga, Kevazingo
Family Fabaceae
USDA hardiness 10-12
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Scattered but relatively abundant in Aucoumea, Sacoglottis forest; Maranthaceae forest; growing on firm ground[328 ].
Range West tropical Africa - southern Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo.
Edibility Rating    (0 of 5)
Other Uses    (4 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (0 of 5)
Care (info)
Tender Moist Soil Full sun
Guibourtia tessmannii Bubinga, Kevazingo


Philipp Zinger wikimedia.org
Guibourtia tessmannii Bubinga, Kevazingo
Ehoarn Bidault mobot.org

 

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Summary

Guibourtia tessmannii is a large tree of about 65m tall and up to 200 cm in diameter with thin, irregular, high buttresses. It is commonly found in west tropical Africa. The wood is heavy to very heavy, hard to very hard, durable, and resistant to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It is very decorative and is often used for veneers, high class furniture, cabinet work, turnery, flooring, stairs, heavy carpentry, etc.


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of cone
Guibourtia tessmannii is an evergreen Tree growing to 50 m (164ft) by 35 m (114ft) at a slow rate.
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects.
It can fix Nitrogen.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Copaifera tessmannii Harms

Plant Habitats

Edible Uses

None known

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


None known

References   More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

Furniture  Wood

Other Uses: The heartwood is a pink or reddish brown with some fine, purplish-red veins and some brown veins; it is clearly demarcated from the 2 - 8cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight or interlocked, sometimes wavy. The wood is heavy to very heavy; hard to very hard; moderately to very elastic; durable, being resistant to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is poorly stable in service. The wood has a high blunting effect - stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; care is needed when working with interlocked grains; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct for internal purposes only and needs to be done with care because the wood is dry and smooth. The wood is very decorative and is often used for veneers, it is also used to make high class furniture, cabinet work, turnery, flooring, stairs, heavy carpentry, joinery, panelling, railway sleepers etc[848 ].

Special Uses

Nitrogen Fixer

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Not known

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

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Plant Propagation

Seed

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Bubinga, Kevazingo

Native Range

AFRICA: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : This taxon has not yet been assessed

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther
Guibourtia coleospermaBushman bean, Large false mopaneTree20.0 10-12 SLMNM222
Guibourtia copalliferaKobo Tree, Sierra Leone gum copalTree20.0 10-12 SLMNM014
Guibourtia demeuseiAfrican RosewoodTree25.0 10-12 SLMHNMWe004
Guibourtia pellegrianaAkume, Bubinga, WakaTree25.0 10-12 SLMHNM004

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

(Harms) J.L'onard

Botanical References

1

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here
A special thanks to Ken Fern for some of the information used on this page.

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