''Guibourtia'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Fabaceae, also known by the common names as Rhodesian copalwood, African Rosewood, Amazique, Bubinga, Kevazingo, and

Ovangkol ''Guibourtia ehie'' is an evergreen tree of the genus ''Guibourtia'' in the family Fabaceae, also known by the common names amazique, amazoué, hyedua, black hyedua, mozambique, ovangkol and shedua. Description ''Guibourtia ehie'' is native to t ...

. Scientific Name being Guibourtia spp.

Description

''Guibourtia'' contains 16

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

that are native to tropical regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(13 species) and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

(3 species).International Legume Database & Information Service
''Guibourtia''
They occur in swampy or periodically inundated

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, as well as near rivers or at lakeshores. The

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s grow to 40–50 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 1–2 m, often with a heavily buttressed trunk.Translated from the German Wikipedia article

Guibourtia ''Guibourtia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Fabaceae, also known by the common names as Rhodesian copalwood, African Rosewood, Amazique, Bubinga, Kevazingo, and Ovangkol. Scientific Name being Guibourtia spp. Description ''Guibour ...

Species

;Africa *''

Guibourtia arnoldiana ''Guibourtia arnoldiana'' (mutenyé, benge, or mbenge) is a species of ''Guibourtia'' in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical western Africa from the Gabon, Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo ...

'' (De Wild. & T.Durand) J.Léonard – benge, benzi, bubinga, essingang, kevazingo, m'penze, mbenge, mutenye, olive walnut, ovang, waka *'' Guibourtia carrissoana'' (M.A.Exell) J.Léonard – African rosewood *''

Guibourtia coleosperma ''Guibourtia coleosperma'', the African rosewood (ambiguous), large false mopane, Rhodesian copalwood or machibi, is a species of ''Guibourtia'' in the family Fabaceae. It is a large evergreen tree (to 20 m tall) found in open woodland and dry fo ...

'' (Benth.) J.Léonard – African rosewood, false mopane, Rhodesian copal wood *'' Guibourtia conjugata'' (Bolle) J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia copallifera'' Benn. *'' Guibourtia demeusei'' (Harms) J.Léonard – African rosewood, akume, Bubinga, ebana, essingang, kevazingo, kewazingo, okweni, ovang, waka *'' Guibourtia dinklagei'' (Harms) J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia ehie'' (A.Chev.) J.Léonard – amazakoue, amazoué, anokye, black hyedua, ehie, hyedua, hyeduanini, ovangkol, shedua *'' Guibourtia leonensis'' J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia pellegriniana'' J.Léonard – akume, bubinga, essingang, kevazingo, kevazingu, ovang, waka *'' Guibourtia schliebenii'' (Harms) J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia sousae'' J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia tessmannii'' (Harms) J.Léonard – akume, bindinga, bubinga, essingang, kevazingo, ovang, waka ;South America *'' Guibourtia chodatiana'' (Hassl.) J.Léonard (sometimes included in ''G. hymenaefolia'') – Tiete rosewood, Patagonian cherry, sirari *'' Guibourtia confertiflora'' (Benth.) J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia hymenaefolia'' (Moric.) J.Léonard – Tiete rosewood, Patagonian cherry, sirari

Uses

The genus is used as tropical hardwood timber and is traded under the common names ''Bubinga'', ''African rosewood'', ''Amazoue'', ''Amazique'', ''Aevazingo'', and ''Avangkol''. The timber is also used for

inlay Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...

s and in the manufacture of high-end furniture (especially by contemporary

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

artists), on high-end woodworking tools such as the front knobs and rear handles of smooth planes, knife handles and medium-end tobacco pipes. The timber is often used by

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

s for harps and other instruments, such as

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

s, because of its mellow and well-rounded sound and the various range of grain patterns. Warwick Bass and

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, ...

are known to use bubinga and ovangkol. It has been used in drum shells as well. Drum companies such as Tama offer various high-end

drum kits A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumstic ...

with plies of Bubinga in the shells. Crafter also uses Bubinga on some instruments. Bubinga is also used in both acoustic and electric guitars for its figure and hardness. Species of ''Guibourtia'' also produce Congo

copal Copal is tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree '' Protium copal'' ( Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal include ...

References

Trees of Africa Fabaceae genera {{Detarioideae-stub