# very pretty mystery wood from Zimbabwe



## phinds (Jun 15, 2021)

Got these pics of furniture from a guy looking for an ID. Nothing jumps out at me but I haven't poked around any yet. My first thought was Brazilian tulipwood but quickly realized that (1) It's nor really colorful enough for tulipwood and (2) only an American teenager would think that Brazil is in Zimbabwe.

Any suggestions?

Oh, and by the way, the fact that the furniture originated in Zimbabwe does not guarantee that the wood is from there. The first pic is a tabletop, then 2 pics of a chair and then a pic of the table base.

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## Arn213 (Jun 15, 2021)

It’s Scandinavian style/mid century style to me and it is teak wood- second growth to be exact as 1st growth teak is dark.


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## Mike1950 (Jun 15, 2021)

(2) only an American teenager would think that Brazil is in Zimbabwe. that is funny. Canarywood WAG only by color


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## phinds (Jun 15, 2021)

Mike1950 said:


> (2) only an American teenager would think that Brazil is in Zimbabwe. that is funny. Canarywood WAG only by color


Yeah, Canary occurred to me too but I think it's too uniform for canary. Could be wrong, but also canary is from South America so we're back to the teenager problem.


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## phinds (Jun 15, 2021)

Arn213 said:


> It’s Scandinavian style/mid century style to me and it is teak wood- second growth to be exact as 1st growth teak is dark.


Teak seems a good possiblity; I found some pics on my site that are somewhat similar in color and grain and teak does grow in parts of Africa although Zimbabwe is a bit far South for it. Still, the wood didn't have to come from Zimbabwe.


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## phinds (Jun 15, 2021)

I've asked the owner to get anything like an end grain shot if possible --- chair arm end, table end, whatever.

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## Arn213 (Jun 15, 2021)

Mike1950 said:


> (2) only an American teenager would think that Brazil is in Zimbabwe. that is funny. Canarywood WAG only by color


Mike this was a real good possibility and I know this wood fairly well as I have planks of it and I had a dovetailed joint 2 x 10 combo amp that was made out of Brazilian canary wood (oiled)- it was a heavy amp and UPS destroyed it when it was shipped to me. The dovetail shifted off it’s alignment and what guitarist dread is it got banged up so bad, that it hum/fuzzed so loud (that is not normal as the electronics and transformer got rocked). Anyhow, I can see why you would say canary wood as the book-matched table top is yellow (I would bet that the top is veneer which is typical of Danish teak furniture) and that one photo shown book-matched is the standard color. But the chair looks way too rich of an orange for canary wood and went with teak because of the Scandinavian/mid century style of the chair based on the elements present- it could be not period correct and couple be a modern version. I say that because Danish furniture and cabinet maker in that period will use “honest construction”. You can see how that is not so as you see how the vertical corner uprights and the slat of back has a collar and a screw.

Oh- this is the amp that I had, but the photo is not mine to show you the canary wood amp combo for reference…

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1


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## Arn213 (Jun 15, 2021)

phinds said:


> Teak seems a good possiblity; I found some pics on my site that are somewhat similar in color and grain and teak does grow in parts of Africa although Zimbabwe is a bit far South for it. Still, the wood didn't have to come from Zimbabwe.


Easy give away with genuine teak is that it has a sweet and floral fragrance. I have an old entry hall piece from Indonesia out of old growth teak. It gets dark when it ages similar to the transformation with cherry wood. The new growth is yellowish in color which I bought a huge slab from a member here.


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## Gonzalodqa (Jun 16, 2021)

Maybe a Guibourtia sp?


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## Mr. Peet (Jun 16, 2021)

Could be 'Lebombo ironwood', _Androstachys johnsonii_. 'Quar', _Psydrax obovata_ can also be streaked as well as 'Coffee pear', _Pleurostylia capensi_s.


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## phinds (Jun 16, 2021)

Gonzalodqa said:


> Maybe a Guibourtia sp?


Doesn't look even remotely like any Guibourtia I've ever seen. Which one does it remind you of? Bubinga? Shedua? I mean, it's not even remotely close to either of those.


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## Gonzalodqa (Jun 16, 2021)

I had to search it but maybe G. coleosperma. I do not have a sample of this but I know some sellers pass it as an African rosewood.
I attached a picture of a sample I found online
Edit* I have to admit that now that I look closer it does not really look similar

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## phinds (Jun 16, 2021)

It does indeed look a bit similar, although not really a terrific match, as you noticed. Not one of the Guibourtias that I've ever run across so good catch.


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## phinds (Jun 17, 2021)

OK, I asked for and received end grain pics and here they are. They strongly suggest to me that it is pau rosa
/Swartzia fistuloides (or maybe Swartzia madagascariensis) but I'm pressed for time at the moment and won't be able to look at this seriously until later today.

pau rosa


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## Gonzalodqa (Jun 17, 2021)

The end grain remind me of Pterocarpus species with the aliform and confluent parenchyma. In your site Pau rosa looks like it have banding parenchyma, but I could be mistaken
I am following to see if you find out what species this is


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## phinds (Jun 17, 2021)

Gonzalodqa said:


> The end grain remind me of Pterocarpus species with the aliform and confluent parenchyma. In your site Pau rosa looks like it have banding parenchyma, but I could be mistaken
> I am following to see if you find out what species this is


I agree that narra, for example, is a slightly better match on the end grain but I rulled it out because of the color. 

I'm also troubled by the apparent row of larger earlywood pores which do not occur in pau rosa (in which it is true that the diffuse-in-aggregate parenchyma, not banded, has fewer breaks than in this wood).


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## Arn213 (Jun 17, 2021)

When people ask you to ID certain pieces of furniture- it becomes really challenging especially when they leave out the most important aspect of identifying what the wood species is. I mean we should have received these end grain close-ups along with the previous photo’s. Can’t solve a crime scene if info is withheld and/or you don’t have all the proper information. I am intrigued to hear what the stats are with these ID threads that become close or cold cases. 

I would have liked to see the chairs and the table together for reference. I am having a hard time visualizing and seeing if there is a connection whether the woods are the same species.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## phinds (Jun 17, 2021)

Arn213 said:


> I would have liked to see the chairs and the table together for reference. I am having a hard time visualizing and seeing if there is a connection whether the woods are the same species.


Good point. I've asked him for that.


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## Gonzalodqa (Jun 17, 2021)

I am thinking if this could be kosso. Tomorrow I will go through my samples to compare it, but I am not sure if that species present red hues.


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## phinds (Jun 17, 2021)

Gonzalodqa said:


> I am thinking if this could be kosso. Tomorrow I will go through my samples to compare it, but I am not sure if that species present red hues.


Interesting. Not one I'm familiar w/ at all. I don't even recall ever seeing it for sale in the US


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## Arn213 (Jun 17, 2021)

I doubt that is kossos. Kossos is mostly yellow-tan and yellow- brown in color. Yes, occasionally it will hit the deeper orange brown spectrum. It was readily available several years ago from an exotic exporter in GA- it was inexpensive. It went to CITES- well, you have to guess why it hit the restrictions list because a certain country saw how close it resembled certain Asian rosewood species. That is all I can say without getting political about it.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## phinds (Jun 17, 2021)

OK, now we have pics of both the table and the chairs together. The table top is clearly veneered and I'm pretty sure it's a different wood than the chairs but not positive. The color on the chairs seems to vary significantly with lighting. See the side in one pic and the back in the other pic of the left back upright of the chair in the lower middle of the first pic and lower right of the 2nd pic.

The table support may be the same wood as the chairs.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Arn213 (Jun 17, 2021)

phinds said:


> OK, now we have pics of both the table and the chairs together. The table top is clearly veneered and I'm pretty sure it's a different wood than the chairs but not positive. The color on the chairs seems to vary significantly with lighting. See the side in one pic and the back in the other pic of the left back upright of the chair in the lower middle of the first pic and lower right of the 2nd pic.
> 
> The table support may be the same wood as the chairs.
> View attachment 210978
> View attachment 210979


Paul- everything you said is “spot on”!  I mean everything you said connect the dots and visually that is what I see too. The mystery wood is really stunning and you can see the crispness of the grain and color on the chair frames and the base! We need to find out what species that is!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mr. Peet (Jun 17, 2021)

Mr. Peet said:


> Could be 'Lebombo ironwood', _Androstachys johnsonii_. 'Quar', _Psydrax obovata_ can also be streaked as well as 'Coffee pear', _Pleurostylia capensi_s.


These are all out based on new end grain photo. So is Red siris, _Paraserianthus toona_.

Pterocarpus is a thought, but banding looks too narrow for many of the species.

What about 'Burma padauk', _Pterocarpus macrocarpus_?


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## Todd W (Jun 23, 2021)

Hi Everybody, This is Todd with the mystery wood table and chairs. Thanks for all the effort and interesting posts about this mystery wood. I joined up to be able to post a few more pics. that Paul suggested might help . (Thanks Paul!)







 These photos are of the chair closely juxtaposed to the tabletop with the grain aligned. Just let me know if there are any other photos that you would like me to take. I am an amateur woodworker due to my occupation as a vintage furniture store owner. Over the years I have learned a lot about wood but consider myself way out of my league on this site. Thanks so much again ! Todd W.


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## phinds (Jun 23, 2021)

Hey, Todd. Thanks for the pics. Just what I asked for. I think now we can all safely conclude that the chairs and table ARE the same wood. Now we just have to figure out WHAT wood it is

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## phinds (Jun 23, 2021)

@Todd W you should do an introductory post as per our rules since you are likely to be back at some point w/ another wood.


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## Todd W (Jun 23, 2021)

phinds said:


> @Todd W you should do an introductory post as per our rules since you are likely to be back at some point w/ another wood.


Will do! ...Where should I post my intro?


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## phinds (Jun 23, 2021)

Todd W said:


> Will do! ...Where should I post my intro?


Uh ... well ... uh ... how about here:

Reactions: Funny 1 | Creative 1


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## phinds (Jun 23, 2021)

We try to make things easy

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## Todd W (Jun 23, 2021)

haha ... ok then ...looks like a good place to do it.


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## Arn213 (Jun 23, 2021)

My final stab at this as my best educated guess is “African Afzelia or Doussie” (Afzelia spp.)- other related species is in Asia/Cambodia. It has yellow-yellow to orange and it looks orange when a finished is applied.

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## phinds (Jun 23, 2021)

Arn213 said:


> My final stab at this as my best educated guess is “African Afzelia or Doussie” (Afzelia spp.)- other related species is in Asia/Cambodia. It has yellow-yellow to orange and it looks orange when a finished is applied.


Arn, I think you might have forgotten about post #14

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## Gonzalodqa (Jun 23, 2021)

I totally forgot about my Kosso sample, but like Arn said it doesn’t really have that redish hue and the streaks are darker. 
I will stick with Pterocarpus. Maybe Narra

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## phinds (Jun 23, 2021)

Gonzalodqa said:


> I totally forgot about my Kosso sample, but like Arn said it doesn’t really have that redish hue and the streaks are darker.
> I will stick with Pterocarpus. Maybe Narra


That seems like a great call. *narra / Pterocarpus indicus. *Most likely a tree/trees that are more towards the red narra than the more more tan variety. That makes the color an excellent match and the end grain is definitely an excellent match.

The only issue is that narra does not, as far as I know, grow in Africa. On the other hand, it's growth range is usually stated as Tropics & Subtropics and Africa certainly has that, so ...

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## Todd W (Jul 14, 2021)

Well, after a long period of reflection, the owner of this consignment piece was somehow able to remember (with 80% certainty) that the store who sold him this table (60 years ago) told him it was Mukwa (Mokwa ) wood. He told me that he was uncomfortable with the idea that the wood was imported because he remembered that there were major restrictions on wood imports at the time. So, I think he is right. I would have put all my money on Narra wood personally if the owner hadn't remembered. THANK YOU everyone for all the help!

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 2


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## Gonzalodqa (Jul 14, 2021)

Well, we were close. Pterocarpus angolensis. At least it is a solved case

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