Amazakoue, Ovangkol, Shedua (Guibourtia ehie) are trade names for a hard brown wood from South Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Western Gabon, all in tropical West Africa. The evergreen trees grow to a height of up to 45 meters, the most straight trunks reach lengths of up to 25 meters and up to 1 meter in diameter.
When freshly cut the wood has an unpleasant smell, once dried it is completely odourless and can even have a pleasant spicy scent. The wood relatively heavy, approx. 1050 kg/m3, hard and easy to work on. It is particularly elastic and pliable, does not break easily and has excellent stamina. The sapwood is yellow-grey and often variegated, the heartwood is light brown to dark brown, often streaked with brown-black veins and stripes. The grain and texture is mostly striped lengthwise, often veined and therefore very decorative. The most common use is for veneers, furniture, turned objects and parquet. Due to its excellent acoustic properties, it is used especially for musical instruments such as guitars, basses and xylophones, also parts of long bows are made of this wood.
