Moabi: Reddish-Brown Wood from Africa
Wood Dictionary
Moabi is an African timber with reddish-brown to deep reddish-brown heartwood. When choosing a brown wood, comparing its reddish tones and grain direction helps identify the right material for a design. MORI KOUGEI offers quarter-sawn and flat-sawn Moabi, alongside a separate Curly Moabi product. Hoxan: Moabi / MORI KOUGEI: Moabi A4 veneer sheet
The photographs are examples of the color and grain associated with each wood or figure. Every piece of natural wood is different; the sheet you receive will not have exactly the same color or grain as the photographs.
Names and identification
- Trade and English names
- Moabi MORI KOUGEI: Moabi A4 veneer sheet / Hoxan: Moabi
- General botanical name and family
- Baillonella toxisperma / Family Sapotaceae Kew: Baillonella toxisperma / USDA Tropical Timbers of the World: Name index, Moabi
- Natural distribution
- Tropical regions from Nigeria to west-central Africa Kew: Baillonella toxisperma
- A4 sheet cut
- Quarter-sawn and flat-sawn MORI KOUGEI: Moabi A4 veneer sheet
Getting to know moabi
Moabi is generally identified botanically as Baillonella toxisperma in the family Sapotaceae. Its natural distribution extends from Nigeria to the tropical regions of west-central Africa. The name alone may not suggest a particular look, but recognizing its reddish-brown surface gives you a starting point for comparing it with other brown woods. Kew: Baillonella toxisperma / USDA Tropical Timbers of the World: Name index, Moabi / Hoxan: Moabi
Look for the red within the brown
Moabi generally has reddish-brown to dark reddish-brown heartwood that contrasts with the sapwood. Hoxan describes the sapwood as grayish brown to pinkish gray-white. Brown is a broad term covering many degrees of lightness and redness. Use color names as a general guide and view the photographs as examples of the expressions found in natural wood. Hoxan: Moabi
Will a strongly contrasting wood emphasize the pattern, or will a similar tone create a quieter surface? When using moabi, consider its relationship to neighboring materials as well as the grain itself. On several faces, such as the sides of a box or the edges of a frame, the way grain directions align also becomes part of the design.
Regular moabi and curly moabi
MORI KOUGEI's Moabi product offers a choice of quarter-sawn and flat-sawn grain. Curly Moabi is a separate trade name that focuses on figure. Quarter-sawn and flat-sawn describe grain produced by the cut, while curly describes a pattern in the wood, so these are not equivalent categories. Alongside color, consider whether you want straight or curved grain lines, or the changing appearance of figure. MORI KOUGEI: Moabi A4 veneer sheet / Columbia Forest Products: Wood Species 101
Add the character of wood to a substrate
Our A4 veneer sheets measure 210 × 297 mm and are approximately 0.25 mm thick. Natural wood veneer is backed with industrial washi paper for decorative surface use. Working solid moabi and bonding thin veneer involve different methods and result in different structures. Do not use the sheet alone as a substitute for the material that gives a box or furniture its strength. MORI KOUGEI: Moabi A4 veneer sheet
The product page gives examples including furniture edges, repairs to flat wooden surfaces and wood inlay. For repairs, hold a small piece against the original surface to assess the overall impression, since the color may not match exactly. We recommend preparing a flat substrate and testing adhesion and finishing before use. MORI KOUGEI: Moabi A4 veneer sheet
Explore related woods
This article draws on publicly available sources from Japan and abroad, with AI used to support research and organization.