Movingue

Distemonanthus benthamianus Baill. Family: Leguminosae

Other Names
anyaran, anyanran, anyan (Nigeria) ; barré (Ivory Coast) ; eyen (Cameroons); oguéminia (Gabon); movingui (Benin).

Distribution
Ayan is widely distributed in West Africa from the Ivory Coast to Gabon and Zaire.

The tree
This is a slender tree attaining a height of more than 30m but seldom more than 0.75m diameter. The bole is straight, cylindrical and free from buttresses.

The timber
The pale yellow sapwood is narrow and not clearly defined ; the heartwood is pale to bright yellow or yellow-brown. It is fine textured, the grain is often interlocked, sometimes wavy, and the wood has a very lustrous surface. Moderately hard and heavy it weighs about 690kg/m3 when dried.

Drying
Dries fairly well with little tendency to split and warp.

Durability
Moderately durable.

Strength
Good strength properties, especially in compression along the grain and in bending.

Working qualities
Works well with hand and machine tools; there is a tendency to pick up when planing quarter-sawn stock owing to interlocked grain. It takes nails and screws fairly well, finishes excellently, and takes a high polish if sufficient filler is used.

Uses
Furniture, cabinet work, ships fittings, flooring, interior joinery. Owing to the presence of a yellow extractive, which in moist conditions can produce a yellow dye, the wood is not suitable for use as clothes airers, laundry equipment.