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Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Blunting Effect Comments Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Luster Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Silica Content Strength Properties Texture Trade Name Tree Size Scientific Name Uapaca sp. Trade Name Sugar-plum Family Name Euphorbiaceae Common Names Abo Emido, Borikio, Rikio, Rikio Riviere, Sugar-plum, Yeye Regions of Distribution Africa Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria Common Uses Balusters, Boat building, Building construction, Building materials, Canoes, Charcoal, Construction, Domestic flooring, Flooring, Fuelwood, Interior construction, Lifeboats, Light construction, Moldings, Parquet flooring, Shipbuilding, Stairworks, Stringers, Sub-flooring Environmental Profile Status has not been officially assessed Distribution Overview Growth range of species in the genus Uapaca is confined to tropical Africa and Madagascar. Some species develop aerial and stilt-roots since they are usually found in swampy areas and near water. Other species grow on the edges of savannah forests. Heartwood Color Brown Green/grey Reddish brown Pale brown Chocloate Sapwood Color Pale straw Color not distinct from heartwood Grain Even Straight Straight Texture Medium to coarse Luster Low Natural Durability Heartwood resistant to decay Resistant to attack by termites Odor No specific smell or taste Silica Content Contains high levels of silica (> 0.5% of dry weight) Drying Defects Splitting Shakes Conditions need to be controlled to yield good results Checking Ease of Drying Fairly Easy Rapidly Easy Dries well under good controlled conditions Quartersawn material is easier to dry Tree Size Tree height is 20-30 m Comments Bears edible fruit Blunting Effect Rapid dulling of tools Blunting effect on machining is fairly severe Cutting Resistance Generally difficult to saw because of density and high silica content. Saw blades tend to heat up Gluing Satisfactory gluing properties Nailing Pre-boring required Holds nails well Difficult to nail Planing Very difficult to work in most operations. Planing sometimes yields fuzzy surfaces Resistance to Impregnation Sapwood is permeable Heartwood is resistant Response to Hand Tools Poor response to hand tools Sanding Fairly good sanding characteristics Strength Properties High bending strength, compression strenght parallel to grain in air dry is high, high density Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 16619 psi Density 45 lbs/ft3 Maximum Crushing Strength 7417 psi Stiffness 2089 1000 psi Specific Gravity 0.59 Weight 44 36. lbs/ft3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 10 % Volumetric Shrinkage 14 % Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 1168 kg/cm2 Density 721 kg/m3 Maximum Crushing Strength 521 kg/cm2 Stiffness 146 1000 kg/cm2 Specific Gravity 0.59 Weight 705 576. kg/m3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 10 % References Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison. Keay, R.W.J. 1989. Trees of Nigeria. Revised Version of Nigerian Trees. Clarendon Press, Oxford.