Wenge (Millettia laurentii)

Characteristics Light Heavy Weight: Soft Hard Hardness: Fine Coarse Texture: Easy Difficult Working: Easy Difficult Finishing: Chart Help

Wenge Characteristics

Texture is rather coarse; straight grain; hard and heavy. Works fairly well with machine tools but has a high blunting effect on cutting edges. Turns well. Difficult to glue if resinous.

Color Range

Dark brown to black with fine black veining.

Other Names

Awoung, Dikela, Mibotu, Bokonge

Some Typical Uses

Furniture, cabinets, flooring, industrial, exterior.

What's the Tree Like?

Ranges from 60-90 feet in height; bole usually straight and unbuttressed; trunk diameters about 36''.

Wenge grows in

Tropical West Africa, Zaire, Cameroon, Gabon, Tanzania.