Wood inspector

Family: Loganiaceae

Common names: Mkoulouku

Distributed in: Brazil, Cameroon, Columbia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Venezuela, Zaire (Africa)

Distribution overview: The genus Strychnos consists of several species of shrubs, vines, and small to medium-sized trees which are distributed in most of the tropical regions of the world.

Common uses: Balusters, Bedroom suites, Building construction, Building materials, Cabinetmaking, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Construction, Core Stock, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Factory flooring, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Interior construction, Kitchen cabinets, Light construction, Living-room suites, Mine timbers, Moldings, Office furniture, Parquet flooring, Pile-driver cushions, Piling, Plain veneer, Plywood, Poles, Turnery, Veneer

Product sources: Species in the genus are less important as a source of timber than for some of their non-timber products. St. Ignatius bean or Igasud (S. ignatti), a woody vine that is found in the forests of the Philippines, produces seeds which are a source of strychnine. S. toxifera , which occurs from Brazil to Costa Rica, yields Curare which is considered as one of the deadliest poisons. The poison is obtained from the bark and roots, and is widely used by some native Indians in South and Central America for poisoning their arrows. Curare paralyze almost instantaneously and soon causes death, even in very small doses.

Environment profile: Vulnerable

Tree size: Trunk diameter is 200-250 cm

Colors: the heart isYellow, Yellowish brownand the sapwoodWhite, Yellow.The grain isStraight to interlocked, the textureUniformand the lusterMedium

Natural durability: Susceptible to termite attack, Very durable

Odor: No specific smell or taste

Kiln Drying Rate: Rapid

Drying Defects: Severe surface checking, Splitting

Ease of Drying: Slowly

Blunting Effect: Severe

Boring: Fairly easy to very easy

Carving: Fairly Easy to Very Easy

Cutting Resistance: Easy to saw

Gluing: Fairly Easy to Very Easy

Mortising: Poor to Very Poor

Moulding: Very Good to Excellent

Movement in Service: Very Good to Excellent

Nailing: Pre-Boring Recommended, Very Good to Excellent

Planing: Very Good to Excellent

Resistance to Impregnation: Resistant sapwood

Response to hand tools: Responds Readily

Routing recessing: Very Good to Excellent Results

Sanding: Very Good to Excellent Results

Veneering qualities: Veneers easily, Veneers moderately easy

Steam bending: Fairly Easy to Very Easy

Screwing: Fairly Easy to Very Easy, Very Good to Excellent Results; Turning: Very Good to Excellent Results

Polishing: Very Good to Excellent; Staining: Very Good to Excellent; Varnishing: Fairly Easy to Very Easy;