Kosipo (Entandrophragma candollei), of the Meliaceae family, grows in Angola, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Congo. Its brown to dark brown heartwood, with a purplish sheen, is darker than that of utile, for which it is a common substitute. The grain is straight, most often interlocked, and the texture medium coarse. It machines well, by hand as by machine, but its silica content blunts tools quickly; gluing and screwing are good. Of durability class 2-3, it is used in furniture, interior woodwork, stairs, wood flooring, boatbuilding, plywood and veneer. Callens African Woods offers it as hardwood sawn timber, within an FSC®-certified range.
