Sapele, QC

Specie Details

Common Names

Sapele, Sapelli

Scientific Name

Entandrophragma cylindricum

Grain/Texture

Grain is interlocked, and sometimes wavy. Fine uniform texture and good natural luster.

Color/Appearance

Heartwood is a medium to dark reddish brown or purplish brown. Color tends to darken with age. Besides the common ribbon pattern seen on quartersawn boards, Sapele is also known for a wide variety of other figured grain patterns, such as: pommele, quilted, mottled, wavy, beeswing, and fiddleback.

Notes of Interest

Sapele is a commonly exported and economically important African wood species. It’s sold both in lumber and veneer form. It is occasionally used as a substitute for Genuine Mahogany, and is sometimes referred to as “Sapele Mahogany.” Technically, the two genera that are commonly associated with mahogany are Swietenia and Khaya, while Sapele is in the Entandrophragma genus, but all three are included in the broader Meliaceae family, so comparisons to true mahogany may not be too far fetched.