How to Identify Iroko
Golden-brown color that darkens on exposure, interlocked medium-coarse grain, open diffuse pores, and the cues that separate Iroko from teak and afrormosia.
Read the full Iroko encyclopedia entry →
Start with color. Iroko heartwood is a warm yellow to golden-honey brown when fresh, over a sharply demarcated pale cream to yellow sapwood, and it darkens noticeably to a medium or richer brown as it oxidizes — so a freshly planed board and an aged one can look quite different. Left outdoors and unfinished it weathers to a silvery gray. Look for subtle darker streaks and, tellingly, occasional whitish chalky deposits (calcium carbonate "stone") sitting in the grain, a feature few look-alike woods share.
Read the grain and figure. Iroko is usually interlocked, giving a moderately coarse, even texture and a soft ribbon stripe on quartersawn faces, though flat-sawn boards — like the sample here — often read as medium and mostly straight with subtle striping. Check the end grain: Iroko is diffuse-porous with medium to large pores that are visible to the naked eye, often in short radial groups or chains, and typically filled with light-colored deposits — an end-grain cue that helps distinguish it from finer-pored woods.
Use weight, hardness and scent to confirm. Iroko is a medium-density hardwood, moderately heavy and firm but not dense like the heavy exotics; a board feels solid without being unusually heavy, and it is medium-hard to the thumbnail. Freshly worked Iroko has little strong or distinctive smell — a useful negative check against aromatic look-alikes.
The most common confusions are with teak, afrormosia and afzelia. True teak (Tectona grandis) is the classic comparison: teak is a touch denser, has a more uniform straight grain, an oily feel, and a distinct leathery or slightly medicinal scent when cut — Iroko is drier-feeling, coarser, and comparatively odorless, and its pale mineral streaks are a giveaway. Afrormosia (Pericopsis elata) resembles Iroko in color but is finer-textured, denser and more uniform, and is CITES-listed, so documentation matters. Afzelia (doussie) is heavier and harder with a more reddish-brown tone. When a golden-brown color that darkens with age, an open medium-coarse diffuse pore, occasional chalky "stone" deposits, medium weight and little scent all line up, Iroko is the likely answer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell Iroko from teak?
Feel, scent and grain. Teak is slightly denser, has a naturally oily or waxy feel and a distinct leathery/medicinal smell when cut, and shows a more uniform straight grain. Iroko feels drier and a bit coarser, is largely odorless, and often carries whitish calcium-carbonate mineral streaks that teak lacks. Color alone is unreliable because both are golden-brown.
What are the whitish streaks or hard spots in Iroko?
They are deposits of calcium carbonate, sometimes called "kambala stone," that form in the grain. They appear as pale chalky streaks or gritty inclusions and can dull tools when machined. Their presence is actually a helpful identification cue, since most look-alike woods do not show them.
Does Iroko change color over time?
Yes. Fresh heartwood is a light golden-yellow-brown and oxidizes to a deeper, richer brown with light and air over weeks and months. Left unfinished outdoors it weathers further to a silvery gray. Compare a freshly cut hidden area with an exposed surface to gauge how much a board has darkened.
What does the end grain tell me?
Iroko is diffuse-porous with medium-to-large pores visible without a lens, commonly arranged in short radial groups and often plugged with light deposits. That open, evenly scattered pore pattern — with no ring of large early-wood pores — separates it from ring-porous woods and from finer-pored species like afrormosia.
Iroko identified by the community
Recent Iroko samples identified with Wood Identifier.
