Wood description:
Okume wood colour is pale pink. Its grain has occasionally some pattern but it is usually straight. Difference between sapwood and heartwood is clearly noticeable. Sapwood is narrow and greyish, heartwood has a salmon-pink tone. Growth areas are not much visible and shrinkage can be considered insignificant.

Histological structure:
Grain: straight, sometimes interlocked or wavy;
Texture: medium.

Characteristic defects:
Internal tensions;
Irregular grain;
Fine mineral particles;
Small black galleries.

Permeabilty:
slightly impermeable sapwood and impermeable heartwood.

Working properties:
Sawing: hard due to the silica content which makes it abrasive;
Drying: quick;
Planing: with special care to the occasional interlocked grain;
Glueing: easy;
Nailing and screwing: easy;
Finishing: easy, except when there are oil stains to be removed with solvents.

Main uses:
Furniture;
Plywood;
Decorative veneering.

Mechanical properties:
Tensil strength : 700 kg/cm²
Compressive strength : 3/80 kg/cm²

Specific weight:
green 850 kg/m³ , dried 650 kg/ m³.