AFRICAN mahogany is a timber which has been used extensively in the furniture trade since the early part of the century. It is derived exclusively from the Khaya genus and commercial supplies consist principally of K. ivorensis and K. anthotheca with smaller amounts of K. grandifoliola1. The timber is not usually regarded as troublesome as an irritant and indeed, only a very few cases have been reported2. It was rather surprising, therefore, to have our attention directed to an outbreak of dermatitis in a factory in which large quantities of the timber were being processed, and it was decided to investigate this more fully.