# Strawberry wood?



## bhatleberg (Jan 4, 2020)

So...I have this thing for odd wood, and so people bring me strange things.

Some friends visited Hungary a while ago, and they asked their hosts for unusual wood to bring back for me. The host guy was a hobby carver (spoons) and had a large woodpile for firewood. So this chunk comes from his firewood pile. The guy called it "strawberry wood".

The question is, what is it?

I looked up "strawberry wood" and found a plant w latin name arbutus unedo that has a geographic range kind of near Hungary. Pic of book writeup is below. Looks coastal on wiki but no pics of wood, seems odd that a guy who is not coastal would have one in his firewood...but maybe. Has anyone heard of arbutus unedo or seen the wood? Any other ideas?

It fluoresces a light blue w one very light orange band near the sapwood. Feels normal weight and hardness-wise - should be mid range. Thought maybe mulberry, but bark and fluorescence I think say no...

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Rich P. (Jan 4, 2020)

Black locust?


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## Spinartist (Jan 4, 2020)

We have one growing in a pot in our back yard. Also called cotton candy tree because the fruit tastes like cotton candy.

The folks that take all my wood shavings had one blow down in hurricane two years ago & gave me several burls off it.

Reactions: Like 1


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## bhatleberg (Jan 4, 2020)

That sounds extremely cool.

Any recollection if the wood looked like this?


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## phinds (Jan 4, 2020)

I have a sample that is, supposedly, Arbutus unedo but it is DEFINITELY not the wood that you show since it is clearly diffuse porous, not strongly ring porous like your wood.





Alan Curtis is a well known wood collector, and although he has been known to make mistakes, it's rare. When it says he collected it, that means he saw the tree that it came from and he does know his stuff.

Here's a list of woods that all have "strawberry tree" as all or part of one or more of their common names

arbutus andrachne
arbutus andrachnoides
arbutus menziesii
arbutus unedo
arbutus xalapensis
cephalanthus natalensis
cudrania tricuspidata
euonymus atropurpurea
maclura tricuspidata
muntingia calabura
myrica rubra

Reactions: Informative 2


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## bhatleberg (Jan 4, 2020)

Makes sense. Seemed way too coincidental that translation from Hungarian would match our common name...


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 4, 2020)

Well, none of the woods fluoresce blue in any of my lists . Yellow to Green with a few (20+) to orange.
Orange includes mango, Baccharis, Symphonia, Brasiletta, Caesalpinia, Centrolobium, Cladrastis, Guilandiana, Haematoxylon, Pterocarpus, Vatairea, Vataireopsis, Stychnos, Berchemia, Cosmocalyx, Hamelia, Neonauclea, Pogonopus, Pseudoicivhona, Simira, Zanthoxylem, Torreya. For each genus listed, there may be several species within the genus, that show Orange.

Maybe this will help?

Looked a lot like Black locust to me also.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## bhatleberg (Jan 5, 2020)

Yeah, thought of locust, but those fluoresce like a light bulb - I'm sure it's not that.

I appreciate the lists of ideas and will try to plug through them.


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 5, 2020)

Spinartist said:


> We have one growing in a pot in our back yard. Also called cotton candy tree because the fruit tastes like cotton candy.
> 
> The folks that take all my wood shavings had one blow down in hurricane two years ago & gave me several burls off it.



I think you are referring to_* Muntingia calabura*_, a Central and South America native. It is planted world wide in the tropics, but is very sensitive to cold. So, I doubt it was growing in Hungry base on climate.

Is that the one you were thinking of Lee?

The other cotton candy tree in the southern US, is the _Cotinus_ genus... wood usually a more vibrant green/yellow.


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## Spinartist (Jan 5, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> I think you are referring to_* Muntingia calabura*_, a Central and South America native. It is planted world wide in the tropics, but is very sensitive to cold. So, I doubt it was growing in Hungry base on climate.
> 
> Is that the one you were thinking of Lee?
> 
> The other cotton candy tree in the southern US, is the _Cotinus_ genus... wood usually a more vibrant green/yellow.




I don't know which species it is.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson (Jan 5, 2020)

Looks like mulberry, does it flouresce?


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 5, 2020)

barry richardson said:


> Looks like mulberry, does it flouresce?



Very first post, just above the first picture he says light blue with an orange band...


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## barry richardson (Jan 5, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> Very first post, just above the first picture he says light blue with an orange band...


I saw that....
I was asking if mulberry floureses....


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 5, 2020)

barry richardson said:


> I saw that....
> I was asking if mulberry floureses....



Sorry, they do not. Mulberry with rot may, but healthy wood does not.


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## phinds (Jan 5, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> Sorry, they do not. Mulberry with rot may, but healthy wood does not.


Why are YOU sorry? It's the mulberry that should be sorry.


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## Rich P. (Jan 6, 2020)

Let’s put the Black Locus theory to a test. It was cut for firewood so put it in the fire. If it gives off a lot of heat then Mr.Peet and I were correct. Locus is one of the best fire woods for heat output it burns slow and hot with a nice fragrance. 
Let’s us know how you make out. 
RichP

Reactions: Informative 1


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## barry richardson (Jan 6, 2020)

Do you have a larger section with bark? Black locusts has very distinctive bark. Also should feel heavier than average.....


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 6, 2020)

bhatleberg said:


> Yeah, thought of locust, but those fluoresce like a light bulb - I'm sure it's not that.
> 
> I appreciate the lists of ideas and will try to plug through them.



So, taking another quick look, I assume that is your hand. The piece first pictured measured about 10.25 inches on the long side on my screen, enlarge your hand to my hand size, wood grows to 12.5 inches. Reconstructing the diameter, I get a 16-18" diameter, with growth rings commonly bigger than 0.25 inches. Why don't you cut a few egg blanks or blocks so we can work up a density? That might help.


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## bamafatboy (Jan 7, 2020)

The end grain looks like Osage Orange to me, But I may be wrong.


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## phinds (Jan 7, 2020)

bamafatboy said:


> The end grain looks like Osage Orange to me, But I may be wrong.


Uh ... you reckon that osage orange grows in Hungary?


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## Byron Barker (Jan 16, 2020)

phinds said:


> Uh ... you reckon that osage orange grows in Hungary?


Yes, it does. Some bowyers there use it and periodically sell it online. I believe it was transplanted though. I researched it once, but can't remember. Looks like Osage to me.


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## phinds (Jan 16, 2020)

Byron Barker said:


> Yes, it does. Some bowyers there use it and periodically sell it online. I believe it was transplanted though. I researched it once, but can't remember. Looks like Osage to me.


I'll be darned. I'm surprized:

_



Maclura pomifera

Click to expand...

_


> prefers a deep and fertile soil, but is hardy over most of the contiguous United States, where it is used as a hedge. It must be regularly pruned to keep it in bounds, and the shoots of a single year will grow one to two metres (3–6 ft) long, making it suitable for coppicing.[10][22] A neglected hedge will become fruit-bearing. It is remarkably free from insect predators and fungal diseases.[10] A thornless male cultivar of the species exists and is vegetatively reproduced for ornamental use.[15] _M. pomifera_ is cultivated in Italy, former Yugoslavia, Romania, former USSR, and India.[23]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera#cite_note-Elsevier_dict-23


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## phinds (Jan 16, 2020)

Byron Barker said:


> Looks like Osage to me.


End grain looks a bit like osage but the face grain doesn't look like any osage I've ever seen but I'm mostly going by the color.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 16, 2020)

phinds said:


> End grain looks a bit like osage but the face grain doesn't look like any osage I've ever seen but I'm mostly going by the color.



Osage does not fluoresce, does it.


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## phinds (Jan 16, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> Osage does not fluoresce, does it.


Makes sense, since it isn't osage


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