Common Name(s):  Shittim, Red Acacia, Shittah

Scientific Name:  Vachellia seyal (syn. Acacia seyal)

Distribution:  Northern tropical Africa

Tree Size:  25-50 ft (8-15 m) tall, 1-2 ft (.3-.6 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight:  41 lbs/ft³ (660 kg/m³)

Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .53, .66

Janka Hardness:  1,150 lb_f (5,110 N)*

*Estimated Janka hardness based on specific gravity

Modulus of Rupture:  14,220 lb_f/in² (98.1 MPa)

Elastic Modulus:  1,550,000 lb_f/in² (10.69 GPa)*

Crushing Strength:  6,700 lb_f/in² (46.2 MPa)*

Shrinkage:  Radial: 3.6%, Tangential: 5.8%, Volumetric: 9.5%, T/R Ratio: 1.6*

*estimated values based on strength/shrinkage groups found in African Timbers

Color/Appearance: No data available.

Grain/Texture: No data available.

Endgrain:  No data available.

Rot Resistance: No data available.

Workability: No data available.

Odor: No characteristic odor.

Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Shittim. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information.

Pricing/Availability: No data available.

Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Common Uses: No data available.

Comments:  Believed to be the species used to construct the Ark of the Covenant in the Hebrew Bible. (Other suspected species include: Faidherbia albida, Vachellia nilotica, and Vachellia tortilis, all of which have been previously classified in the Acacia genus.) Shittim was formerly placed in the Acacia genus (A. seyal), but in the mid 2000s the massive genus was divided into five distinct genera (amid much debate), with most African species being reclassified into the Vachellia or Senegalia genera.

Black Wattle (sanded)

Black Wattle (sealed)