''Guibourtia'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

, 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 ...

Description

''Guibourtia'' contains 16

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

that are native to tropical regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

(13 species) and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s grow to 40–50 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 1–2 m, often with a heavily

buttressed A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ag ...

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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

Species

;Africa *'' Guibourtia arnoldiana'' (De Wild. & T.Durand) J.Léonard – benge, benzi, bubinga, essingang, kevazingo, m'penze, mbenge, mutenye, olive walnut, ovang, waka *''

Guibourtia carrissoana ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' (M.A.Exell) J.Léonard – African rosewood *'' Guibourtia coleosperma'' (Benth.) J.Léonard – African rosewood, false mopane, Rhodesian copal wood *'' Guibourtia conjugata'' (Bolle) J.Léonard *''

Guibourtia copallifera ''Guibourtia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family (biology), family Fabaceae, also known by the common names as Rhodesian copalwood, African Rosewood, amazique, bubinga, kevazingo, and ovangkol. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 speci ...

'' Benn. *''

Guibourtia demeusei ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' (Harms) J.Léonard – African rosewood, akume, Bubinga, ebana, essingang, kevazingo, kewazingo, okweni, ovang, waka *''

Guibourtia dinklagei ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' (Harms) J.Léonard *'' Guibourtia ehie'' (A.Chev.) J.Léonard – amazakoue, amazoué, anokye, black hyedua, ehie, hyedua, hyeduanini, ovangkol, shedua *''

Guibourtia leonensis ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' J.Léonard *''

Guibourtia pellegriniana ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' J.Léonard – akume, bubinga, essingang, kevazingo, kevazingu, ovang, waka *''

Guibourtia schliebenii ''Guibourtia schliebenii'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Mozambique and Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bo ...

'' (Harms) J.Léonard *''

Guibourtia sousae ''Guibourtia sousae'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanza ...

'' J.Léonard *''

Guibourtia tessmannii ''Guibourtia tessmannii'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is a medium to large-sized tree and is native to Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The timber has an attractive appearance and has many uses, and the bark is used in ...

'' (Harms) J.Léonard – akume, bindinga, bubinga, essingang, kevazingo, ovang, waka ;South America *''

Guibourtia chodatiana ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' (Hassl.) J.Léonard (sometimes included in ''G. hymenaefolia'') – Tiete rosewood, Patagonian cherry, sirari *''

Guibourtia confertiflora ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' (Benth.) J.Léonard *''

Guibourtia hymenaefolia ''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. Description ''Guibourtia'' contains 16 species that are nativ ...

'' (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 the ...

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

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

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 ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

s for

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

s and other instruments, such as

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

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 Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

are known to use bubinga and ovangkol. It has been used in

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

shells as well. Drum companies such as Tama offer various high-end

drum kits A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The drummer t ...

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 a 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 includ ...

References

Trees of Africa Fabaceae genera {{Detarioideae-stub