African Pearwood (Moabi)
Botanical Name: (Baillonella toxisperma)
Moabi, the tropical hardwood from West Africa also known as African pear wood. One of the largest trees in the forests of Equatorial Africa, from Nigeria to Gabon and Zaire, it routinely reaches a height of 200 feet with 10-foot diameters and straight cylindrical boles to 100 feet. Moabi is used as lumber and veneer in a variety of uses. Moabi is comparable to makore. It is a very beautiful wood. Even the plain material has chatoyance. Weight: is 50 pounds per cubic foot with a specific gravity of .80. Extremely tough with high bending strength. Works well with most hand and machine tools. Some companies put makore and moabi in the same category because of their close resemblance and because both are from the family Sapotaceae. The figure in these sets is a gorgeous quilt.