Rank Genus | Scientific name Entandrophragma | |
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Lower classifications Sapele, Utile | ||
Entandrophragma is a genus of eleven species of deciduous trees in the mahogany family Meliaceae, restricted to tropical Africa. At least some of the species attain large sizes, reaching 40–50 m tall, exceptionally 60 m, and 2 m in trunk diameter. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet 8–10 cm long with an acuminate tip. The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences, each flower small, with five yellowish petals about 2 mm long, and ten stamens. The fruit is a five-valved capsule containing numerous winged seeds. In 2016 a specimen of Entandrophragma excelsum towering more than 80 m was identified at Kilimanjaro.
Contents
Species
Uses
The timber of a few species is well known. These are traded under separate names and can be used more or less like mahogany, with that of Entandrophragma cylindricum perhaps closest to a mahogany-type wood. The wood has a density of 660 kg per cubic meter.
