Boire is known throughout Africa to be a tough, durable wood, despite a Maple-like density. It is reputed to remain smooth under friction, which makes it ideally suited for its primary use in flooring. The sapwood of Boire is pale brown in color; its heartwood is typically medium brown to bronze, with dark streaks (and sometimes other hues, such as oranges and yellows, intermingled). The species has interlocked grain, and fine and uniform in texture. It has a similar odor to Cedar. Other than the tearout commonly associated with interlocking grains, the wood has good working properties.

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Sustainability: Not listed in the CITES Appendices, but is classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Common Uses: Flooring, furniture, cabinets, joinery, veneer, gunstocks and general construction.

Comments: This is not an exotic wood which has a boatload of information available with regard to it. Most all of the major US flooring websites that offer this wood share the exact same descriptions and specs, obviously copied one from another. In it, they list its Janka Hardness rating as 940 lbf. Conversely, Ken Goldstein’s 2009 “Janka Hardness Test For Hardwoods” (http://ejmas.com/tin/2009tin/tinart_goldstein_0904.html) shows Boire having measured at 1326 lbf. Perhaps its density varies greatly, as the latter figure (1326) represents more than a 40% increase over the figure commonly given by US flooring industry sources.