Mopane--the lightning tree!

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Griffin Exotic Wood

Mopane
(colophospermum mopane)
(Moe-pah-nee)

Mopane is a wood that is excellent for making bagpipes, flutes and other woodwind instruments. Some people even prefer the sound to that of African blackwood, the industry standard. Interestingly, in a work published in 1857 about his African missionary travels, the famous Dr. David Livingstone ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume") mentions mopane as a tree that the natives warned him to stay away from in a lightning storm, as they said "the lightning hates it". Apparently the tree is struck by lightning much more than other trees in the area. Mopane is the national tree of Namibia. It is a very hard and dense wood, being an excellent turning wood and musical instrument wood. Has a specific gravity around 1.0 or sometimes more. The pieces sold below are on the high end of density. It is an easily dried wood, most pieces sold are at least partially dried.


Exotic Wood Chart
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