DIBETOU

dibetou TIMBER USES

The tropical wood dibetou is a renowned timber for joinery and interior design. It is particularly sought after for decorative veneers and interior woodwork. In appearance, it looks like European walnut because their color is similar. Dibetou is used locally in the manufacture of furniture, tables and benches.

The tropical timber dibetou is used for the following purposes:

Structures and panels

• Lightweight structures
• Plywood, inside face and outside face
• Sliced veneer

Carpentry and interior fittings

• Doors and door frames
• Interior panelling and cladding
• Layout and furnishings
• Furniture and cabinetmaking

Miscellaneous uses

• Turnery, cutlery and brushmaking

Where to buy Dibetou timber?

DISTRIBUTION AREA OF dibetou

The distribution area of dibetou extends from the Atlantic coast of West Africa (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria), through all of Central Africa (Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, DRC, Angola), to end in Uganda, in East Africa.

ECOLOGY and Biology of dibetou

The tropical species dibetou is found mainly in dense humid semi-deciduous forests, more rarely in evergreen forests.  It is a hermaphordite species whose winged seeds are dispersed by the wind.

DESCRIPTION OF dibetou TIMBER

• Color: brown
• Sapwood: clearly demarcated
• Texture: fine
• Grain: interlocked
• Interlocked grain: slight

dibetou: PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

See the Tropix sheet of dibetou (CIRAD).

dibetou: NATURAL DURABILITY AND TREATABILITY

• Fungi: class 3-4 - moderately to poorly durable
• Dry wood borers: durable - sapwood demarcated (risk timited t sapwood)
• Termites : class S - susceptible
• Treatability: class 3-4 - poorly or not permeable permeable
• Use class ensured by natural durability: class 2 - inside or under cover (dampness possible)
• Species covering the use class 5: No

PROCESSING OF dibetou TIMBER

See the Tropix sheet (CIRAD).

Sources :

• CIRAD
• ATIBT
• Q. Meunier, C. Moumbogou, J.-L. Doucet, 2015, Les arbres utiles du Gabon

Copyright: Q. Meunier, C. Moumbogou, J.-L. Doucet, 2015, Les arbres utiles du Gabon