The African teak is similar in appearance to other teaks and has brown, green or yellow-brown bark and a straight grain.

It grows up to 50m in height. The trunk is buttressed to about 2.5m and is approximately 2m in diameter.

African teak is used in boat building, joinery, flooring and decorative veneers. The main importing country is Italy.

Excessive exploitation of this species over the last 50 years by commercial and illegal loggers destroys the natural resources on which local indigenous communities rely for their livelihoods. It also directly impacts on other endangered species which live in these forests, including chimpanzees, gorillas and forest elephants.