Albizia Wood (Albizia Ferruginea) : Uses, properties, pros and cons

Albizia ferruginea wood is called iatandza in Gabon, awiemfosamina in Ghana, and musase in South Africa (Liberia).

Albizia wood is considered one of the most valuable hardwood trees for making furniture. The wood is hard and durable. It has a beautiful, natural golden yellow color.

Albizia wood is one of the most popular hardwood species in Asia and Africa. The Albizia ferruginea is a type of tree that loses its leaves in the fall and has a wide crown with many branches.

It is used for building, flooring, stairs, furniture, cabinetry, joinery, turning, tools, carvings, glued laminated timber, and veneer.

It can also be used for carpentry, mine props, vehicle bodies, toys and oddities, musical instruments, railway sleepers, boxes, and crates. In the southeast of DR Congo, wood is often used to make charcoal.

Albizia ferruginea is grown as an ornamental tree for shade and as a tree along a road. The bees collect nectar from the flowers. People have used small pieces of a branch as firesticks.

Albizia wood is sold under other names

Albizia species like ferruginea are called tanga tanga, iatandza, awiemfosamina, and musase, among other local and trade names.

Most of the time, the wood is mixed with wood from other Albizia species and sold under the name albizia, which is more general.

Aesthetics

Albizia ferruginea is a beautiful tree that can be put in parks and along streets.

The yellowish to reddish brown heartwood, which has a golden or occasionally purple gloss, is easily distinguished from the 3–7 cm wide pale yellow to pinkish brown sapwood.

The grain is mixed up, and the texture is rough. The shape of radial surfaces is very nice.

Albizia Wood Availability            

Although veneer, solid timber, and smaller craft blanks are occasionally made available, this material is not widely available.

Pricing

For imported hardwood, expect prices to be in the middle of the range. Figured boards and veneer will cost more.

Albizia ferruginea wood has some value on the international market, even though it isn’t used as much as other types of wood. It is often mixed with wood from other species of Albizia. In the first half of 2004, Ghana sent out 240 m3 of sawn Albizia wood, worth about US$250,000.

Geography

A. ferruginea is a forest emergent that grows in woodland, lowland rainforests, and scrubs. Native: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda.

Albizia ferruginea grows in Uganda up to 1200 m in lowland semi-deciduous and evergreen forests. West Africa is most common in semi-deciduous forests, but smaller numbers can also be found in forested savanna and evergreen forests.

In 5 years, seedlings can grow up to 3 m tall in places where they are exposed. In Ghana, seedlings grew to be 2 m tall in just two years.

Maintenance    

Before polishing, it is advisable to treat surfaces with grain filler. Additionally, good for wooden homes is wood.

Air seasoning is reportedly moderately easy to dry. Defects in drying: There is a risk of bowing and twisting.

The wood can be sawed and worked with standard hand and machine equipment, but the force needed varies depending on the density.

To prevent tearing, a slight cutting angle is required. To get a good finish, using a filler is advised.

Sustainability

Despite being on the IUCN Red List, this wood species is not included in the CITES Appendices. Due to exploitation, a decline in its native range, and a population decline of more than 20% over the last three generations, it is classified as vulnerable.

Is Albizia wood hard or softwood            

Wood type: Hardwood

Although it is a deciduous tree that sheds its leaves every fall and is categorized as a hardwood by scientists, its density and hardness are comparable to pine. Due to the absence of pine’s problematic sap and pitch, its hardness cuts better in comparison.

The density of the medium-weight hardwood at 15% moisture content is 505-810 kg/cu m.

Albizia wood stain          

Millions of different reagents were used to color the different samples on their own. A red stain means that there is protein there.

A blue-black color was seen with Chlor-zinc-iodine and N/50 iodine, then 66% Sulphuric acid. This reagent turned red the cells of the epidermis, the parenchyma, and the phloem. The cell wall and most of the other parts of plant cells are made of cellulose.

Brown or yellow stains showed this in some cells, and it was confirmed when the cells were put in a ferric chloride solution and turned a bluish-green color.

Albizia Wood identification

Albizia ferruginea is a tree that grows up to 45 meters tall most of the time and sometimes up to 50 meters.

Without any branches, the straight, cylinder-shaped bole can be up to 22 meters long and up to 100 cm in diameter. It usually has no supports but can have small, thick supports up to 1.5 meters high.

The sapwood is thin and pale yellow. It is 5 cm thick. The heartwood is yellowish brown to dark red-brown with a golden tint and sometimes dark streaks. It is marked off.

Color and appearance

Heartwood is usually a golden brown color with lighter and darker wood stripes. Sapwood, on the other hand, is pale yellow. With time, the color tends to get darker.

It looks like afzelia, another tropical hardwood that grows in the same area. Albizia species tend to have more color variations and stripes and weigh less than the Afzelia species. The heartwood of Albizia species also glows.

Endgrain

Arrangement: solitary and radial multiples.

Vessels are big to very big, and there aren’t many of them. Sometimes there are light and dark deposits.

Most of the time, Albizia can’t be the answer if the heartwood doesn’t glow.

Wood is a porous material. Some ships are only used by themselves (over 90% of the time). 200 microns or more on the tangential diameter of the lumina of the vessel (large).

Vestured pits. Vessels per mm2 of less than 6 (rare). Simple plates with holes.

Flower

The calyx is 3–6 mm long and has rusty hairs. The flowers are greenish-cream and grow in tight clusters.

There are a lot of stamens, and their filaments can be up to 5 cm long. The stamen tube doesn’t stick out far beyond the corolla, or it barely does.

Flowers are bisexual, regular, white to yellow, held up by bracteoles up to 7 mm long; pedicel up to 3 mm long.

Fruit

The fruit is a reddish-brown pod about 15–20 cm long and 4 cm wide. It is shiny, has veins, and has 9–12 flattened seeds that are 7–10 mm long and 4.5–8 mm wide.

Fruit is an oblong, flat pod that is 15–24 cm long and 3–5 cm wide. It is hairless and has transverse veins. When it is ready, it is yellowish-brown and opens with two papery valves.

Grain and texture

Typically, the grain will be interlaced. Characterized by a grainy surface and a strong innate sheen. The grain pattern of the wood is typically uneven and rough.

Leaves

The leaflets are long and thin, with a round tip and base. They are smooth on top and hairy on the bottom. The red covering on the leaf.

The leaves have a lot of saponins, which can be used to clean. The way the leaves move at night shows how we sleep.

After the rainy season, the leaves fall off, and the new growth is red. In Liberia, flowers bloom on trees in February and March, and fruits are ready to eat from December to February.

odor

No characteristic odor.

Tree

A large tree loses its leaves and can grow up to 45–50 m tall. The trunk is straight and cylindrical and can be up to 100–130 cm in diameter.

The bark is hard and scaly without buttresses, or occasionally with thin, little buttresses that reach a height of 1.5 m, which ranges in color from yellowish brown to dark grey.

The inner bark is fibrous and yellowish to orange-brown, with darker stripes and clear or honey-colored gum.

Albizia wood bark

People say that the bark is poisonous. The leaves are employed in the Central African Republic to kill fish.

In traditional medicine, the bark is used to treat wounds, pimples, and other skin problems. Worms can also be eliminated using it.

The bark is also used to make medicines for pets; stems have many saponins, and the bark on the roots also has alkaloids.

The leaves had 38% protein and 41% crude fiber, which are fairly high amounts.

Pros  and Cons       

Albizia wood is a fast-growing tropical hardwood tree. Its fast growth rate and strong lumber make it an attractive alternative to other trees for making wood furniture.

In this post, we have written an Albizia wood Pros and Cons to help you make an informed decision.

Rot resistance

Rated as having moderate durability but low resistance to insects. There is a level of termite resistance present in the heartwood.

Strength and Durability 

This species is resistant to decay, so it can be used for exterior joinery and other similar tasks without being treated with a preservative. Not easy for termites to eat. Attacks from Lyctus can’t hurt heartwood.

The heartwood lasts a long time. Fungi or dry-wood borers can’t eat it. Usually, it can also be eaten by termites, but wood from Liberia is said to be vulnerable to termite attacks. The preservatives can’t get into the heartwood but can get into the sapwood.

Allergies and toxicity

The wood dust has a peppery smell. It might bother the nose and throat of people who work in a sawmill.

Albizia ferruginea and other similar plants from tropical Africa have golden brown wood that shines. But this beauty comes with a warning: the wood can irritate and inflame mucous membranes, and care should be taken when sawdust from the wood gets into the air.

The dust from the wood may hurt your nose and throat. A decoction of the bark is put on sores, pimples, and other skin problems to help heal them.

Water resistance

It dries slowly, but there isn’t much change most of the time. The shrinkage rates are between 2.2% and 3.5% from wet to dry.

In the radial direction and between 4.6% and 5.4% in the tangential direction, Once the wood is dry, it can be used reliably.

Workability

Moderately easy to work with, but the interlocked grain can cause tear-out when the wood is being planed. Turning it, gluing it, and finishing it are all simple tasks.

People say that the wood is easy to work with, but because the grain is interlocked, care must be taken when machining quartered surfaces. Both hand and machine tools work well on the wood.

But you need sharp cutting tools if you want smooth surfaces on this kind of wood.

The wood is good at holding nails and screws, but you should drill holes in it first to keep it from splitting. The ability to stick, bend with steam, and cover with veneer is all good.

Albizia wood uses

It is used for building, flooring (both light and heavy), stairs, furniture, cabinetry, joinery, turning, tools, carvings, glued laminated timber, and veneer. It can also be used for carpentry, mine props, vehicle bodies, toys and oddities, musical instruments, railway sleepers, boxes, and crates. Most of the time, wood is used to make charcoal.

Depending on the type of albizia, wood can be used in several ways. Aside from fuel, it is used as beams, planks, boards, posts, and packing crates and cases. It is also used as flooring and wall paneling. It can also be used to make handles for tools and furniture.

Albizia wood for furniture

The wood business or wood industry is a part of the economy that deals with things like ranger service, logging, the exchange of lumber, and making wood products like furniture and wood mash for the mash and paper industry.

Pick wood from far away. Its signature ties give your piece personality without making it look like your aunt’s heavy, old-fashioned furniture.

Albizia wood for flooring

The known ways to use wood are based on traditional knowledge and scientific tests. These uses are affected by economic factors like availability and cost, the properties of the wood, the technology used to process it, and how well the species is protected.

It can be used for many things because it has good mechanical properties, is durable, and doesn’t shrink much. One thing it can be used for is parquet flooring.

Albizia wood for firewood

The wood is used to make charcoal by being burned.

They have short lives because they get sick a lot. But trees are very resistant to rot, fungus, and water damage because they have a lot of tannins. They are ideal for use as firewood as a result.

At the top of the list are reforestation and firewood plantations. The wood from these is dense and strong.

When the wood burns, it gives off 5200–5600 kcal/kg. It also grows back quickly after being cut down or pollarded, which makes it a valuable source of high-quality firewood and charcoal. But in places with a lot of demand for wood carvings, the wood is too valuable to burn.

Albizia related species

Albizia has about 120 species and can be found all over the tropics. About 35 species live in Africa, and about 30 live in Madagascar. It has a head-shaped inflorescence with 1–2 modified, functionally male flowers in the center and a longer, nectar-producing staminal tube. Molecular tests showed that Albizia is different from other plants, so the genus needs to be changed.

Mimosa (Albizia Julibrissin)

The crown of the Albizia julibrissin tree is open, flat, and spread out. Mimosa is a tree that grows mostly in temperate and subtropical areas. At higher elevations, it moves into the tropics. Mature plants can be hardy down to about -20°C when they are dormant in continental regions.

Lebbeck (Albizia Lebbeck)

Albizia lebbeck is a fast-growing tree that loses its leaves and has a large, open crown that spreads out. The straight, cylinder-shaped bole can be 50 to 100 cm in diameter, but some grow up to 300 cm. A high-quality hardwood called “Indian walnut” or “koko” is made from siris grown on plantations.

Siris, Black (Albizia Odoratissima)

Black siris is a medium-sized tree that loses its leaves and can grow up to 22 or even 40 meters tall.

It may be cultivated anywhere between sea level and 1,500 meters in the tropics and subtropics. In its natural range, the highest temperature in the shade is between 37°C and 50°C, and the lowest is between 0°C and 15°C.

Monkeypod (Albizia Saman)

The saman tree has a large, symmetrical crown and a wide canopy. Albizia saman comes from Central and South America.

The leaves fold up when it rains or gets late, which is why the Malay name for it is “Pukul Lima,” which means “rain tree” or “five o’clock tree.”

Wood is very stable and durable. It doesn’t warp, and bugs or other pests can’t eat it.

Albasia Wood (Albizia Falcataria)

Albizia Falcataria is a type of wood that grows quickly and is widely planted in Indonesia. If wood is used to build something, it has other benefits. Compared to making steel or concrete, wood uses the least energy, releases the least amount of greenhouse gases, and pollutes the air and water the least.