Manni (Symphonia globulifera)

Manni is an imported hardwood

Location

Manni (Symphonia globulifera) is native to the West Indies, Mexico, and Central, North, and South America. It also occurs in tropical West Africa. Other names include ossol (Gabon), anani (Brazil), waika (Africa), and chewstick (Belize), a name acquired because of its use as a primitive toothbrush and flossing tool.

Characteristics

The heartwood is yellowish, grayish, or greenish brown and is distinct from the whitish sapwood. The texture is coarse and the grain straight to irregular. The wood is very easy to work with both hand and machine tools, but surfaces tend to roughen in planing and shaping. Manni air-dries rapidly with only moderate warp and checking. Its strength is similar to that of hickory (Carya), and the density of air-dried wood is 704 kg/m3 (44 lb/ft3). The heartwood is durable in ground contact but only moderately resistant to dry-wood and subterranean termites. The wood is rated as resistant to treatment with preservatives.

Primary Uses

Manni is a general purpose wood that is used for railroad ties, general construction, cooperage, furniture components, flooring, and utility plywood.

*Much of the base wood information presented here is made available by the USDA FPL FS. If you are interested in a much more technical description of wood properties, I encourage you to visit the source.