How to Identify African Walnut
Recognize African Walnut by its golden-yellow to bronze-brown color, fine lustrous texture, gentle ribbon stripe, and dark gum lines — and how to tell it from true walnut.
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Start with color and luster, because they set African Walnut apart from the true walnuts it is named after. Where black walnut is a cool chocolate-to-purple-brown, Lovoa is a warm golden-yellow to bronze or pale tan-brown, often brighter and more yellow, and it carries a distinct natural sheen that true walnut lacks. Look, too, for the fine dark gum streaks or thin black lines that thread through the heartwood — a hallmark that earned it the alternate name 'Tigerwood.' Freshly cut boards read most yellow and deepen to a richer brown over time.
Read the grain and figure next. The grain is straight to shallowly interlocked, and on quartered (radial) faces that interlock throws a soft, regular ribbon or stripe figure rather than the wilder, more curly figure of temperate walnut. The texture is fine and even, finer than most oaks, and the surface takes a lustrous polish. Sapwood is noticeably paler — light tan to yellow — and fairly well separated from the heartwood.
Check the end grain and weight for confirmation. African Walnut is diffuse-porous, with medium-sized pores fairly evenly scattered and no ring of large early-wood pores; growth rings are not strongly marked. In the hand it feels moderately dense and mid-weight — noticeably lighter and softer than oak or maple, and close to genuine walnut in heft. A thumbnail leaves only a shallow mark, consistent with its medium hardness. The wood has no strong characteristic scent.
The most common confusions are with the wood it is named for and with its Meliaceae cousins. True (black) walnut is darker, cooler, and more purple-brown with a duller surface and coarser pores. Sapele and African mahogany are redder-brown rather than golden, and sapele shows a more pronounced, tighter ribbon stripe. Genuine 'Tigerwood' (Astronium / Goncalo alves) is far denser and harder with bold red-orange and dark-brown streaking. Where a wood is golden-bronze, finely textured, lustrous, and threaded with thin dark gum lines, and feels lighter than a true tropical hardwood, Lovoa / African Walnut is the strong candidate.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell African Walnut from real black walnut?
Color and luster are the giveaways. African Walnut is a warm golden-yellow to bronze-brown with a distinct sheen and fine dark gum lines, while black walnut is a cooler, duller chocolate-to-purple-brown with coarser pores. Lovoa also has a finer, more even texture.
What is the ribbon stripe on African Walnut?
It is the figure produced by the wood's shallow interlocked grain on quartered (radial) surfaces, where alternating bands catch the light differently. It shows as a soft, regular stripe and is one reason the wood is prized as a decorative veneer.
Why is African Walnut sometimes called Tigerwood?
Because of the fine dark gum streaks and black lines running through its golden heartwood. Be careful, though: the name 'Tigerwood' is also used for a completely different, much harder wood (Goncalo alves), so trade names alone are unreliable.
Does African Walnut have a distinctive smell?
Not particularly. Freshly worked Lovoa has only a faint, neutral odor, so scent is not a reliable identifier. Rely instead on its golden-bronze color, luster, fine texture, dark gum lines, and moderate weight.