Tambootie / Sandalo / African Cocobolo

Family: Euphorbiaceae - Order: Malpighiales - Class: Rosids

Scientific name: (Spirostachys africana)

Trade name: Tamboti / African Cocobolo

Also known as Sandalo, Mtomboti, Tambotie, Muconite, Sandalo africano and African Sandalwood

Origin: India, Eastern Africa, North and East of South Africa.

Instrumental uses:
Guitar back and sides, fingerboards, bridges, head plates, peg heads and bindings.

Tonal properties:

As tonewood, it is a surprising one. Very powerful and good presence. Very good and defined basses, well defined midrange and well balanced high frequencies. Voices very clear and defined along the instrument. Can be matched with any type of top on Classical acoustic guitars. Used in fingerboards it has great to excellent tonal properties on fretless basses. Concluding: can be very versatile according to the set match, bright but perhaps harsh too; a crisp sound attenuator.

The grain is straight but often wavy with a very fine texture helping very much with the resonance and sustain overall.

Can be sometimes difficult to saw due to the high density but it has good workability, glues and finishes extraordinarily well.

Is very dense, stiff and very resistant with an average dried weight nearly of 60  lbs/ft3 or 955 kg/m3. 

It grows in woodlands, in savanna forests and the coastal belt of the tropical zone, on poor and acidic soil, where the specie is often dominant.

Is a medium sized deciduous tree with a straight, clear trunk. The tree reaches a height of 12 to 15 m. The bole is straight, fluted, up to 6 m in length. The trunk diameter is 40 to 80 cm.

The color of the heartwood is mainly golden brown with grayish red brown, with black marks spread allover the wood. Pale yellow sapwood sharply demarcated from heartwood. Usually has figured patterns.

CITES status is unrestricted. Is not reported on the IUCN Red List.