Presentation of our species: Ash, Oak, Walnut, Larch, Santos Rosewood and Zebrano.

At Bowud, we value the origins of the wood used in our beautiful custom furniture and shelving. With this in mind, we've chosen four trees that are particularly well-established in our French forests: ash, oak, walnut, and larch.

In addition, we have expanded our collection of wood species with precious species such as Santos rosewood and zebrano, from South America and Africa respectively.

The Ash:

Tree of the genus Fraxinus , belongs to the Oleaceae family; around sixty species of ash are known, they live mainly in temperate forests. Characterized by pinnate compound leaves, they are recognizable by their clusters of simple samaras locally nicknamed "bird's tongues".

Ash is a hardwood. It is used to make solid flooring, but can be too uniform in color. Harvested as pollard (Poitevin-Saintongeais: pollard), it is the wood for handles: shovels, axes, picks, etc., as well as bows, because it is flexible and resistant to vibrations. This wood is also used for making cheese rings, which can take on a rounded shape and keep it even after several uses because it is very "resilient."

Here too, exploited as pollard in the Massif Central and in the West of France, during dry summers, farmers harvest the foliage to feed ruminants. As it was also a hedge or shade tree near water points, it was often enough to cut down branches for the animals to help themselves.

Ash leaves are used in herbal teas, including the so-called "centennial" tea; it can be consumed throughout life without contraindication and acts against joint pain (Ollier 2011) and illnesses such as gout.

Frênette, a fresh, sparkling drink, was produced by families in Anjou until the 1960s. The leaves were dried and then made into a herbal tea. Sugar and baker's yeast were added. The mixture was left in barrels for a while, then bottled.

Several diseases are developing in ash trees, probably due to international trade, and perhaps due to a trend towards global warming and the cultivation of clones with lower genetic diversity.

As ash trees are being decimated in the northern hemisphere by a fungus (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) in Europe and by the beetle Agrilus planipennis in North America, we are seeking to better understand its genetics and search for genetic markers of resistance to the fungus that is decimating it; for example, a recent study (2016) showed that resistant specimens would be more numerous in Great Britain than in Denmark and that the susceptibility of trees to the pathogen H. fraxineus is associated with their levels of a glycoside (iridoid).

An ash grove is a forest of ash trees or rich in ash trees.

The Oak:

The genus Quercus , oak in Latin, includes between 200 and 600 species (a figure that varies depending on the author, given the large number of hybrids) located mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, of which around twenty species grow spontaneously in Europe and 8 in France (holm oak, cork oak, kermes oak, tauzin oak, sessile oak, pedunculate oak, pubescent oak and hairy oak).

Hardy to semi-hardy, enjoying a place in full sun in an open area, they colonize extremely diverse environments, ranging from arid zones (North Africa, California) to humid tropical zones (Colombia, Central America), passing through temperate regions (Europe, North America, Central Asia). As a general rule, it is in temperate regions that the distribution areas occupy the largest surfaces, on a continental scale.

Oak is the most widespread tree in France, ahead of pine where it represents 40% of species, both broadleaf and coniferous.

Oaks are among the most genetically polymorphic forest species, hence their strong capacity for adaptation.

As carrier and engineer species, they shelter significant biodiversity (epiphytes, birds, insects, parasites and other symbionts) and provide a soft, slightly acidic humus with rapid mineralization, which leads to the formation of brown forest soils, neutral or even slightly alkaline.

Botanists distinguish two main categories of oaks: deciduous oaks whose leaves fall in autumn, sometimes in spring (red oak, turkey oak, pubescent oak, tauzin oak and sessile oak); sclerophyll oaks whose leaves are evergreen: trees growing mainly on the Mediterranean coasts (holm oak, kermes oak and cork oak) as well as in subtropical and tropical zones in America and Asia. The former, generally larger, have leaves divided into lobes or crenate; the latter have leathery leaves that are entire or with spiny teeth. Tropical species have entire leaves, comparable to the shape of certain Lauraceae (camphor tree, etc.).

Unless it grows in the middle of a clearing, due to slow growth, in a primary mixed subnatural mixed forest (hardwood-softwood), it takes 100 to 150 years to reach the canopy, but this slowness allows the oak to produce a dense and hard wood, valued for many uses, especially since the near disappearance of the large elms which also produced a hard and large wood.

If allowed to live, oak trees can easily live to over 500 years old, and in exceptional cases, to over 1,000 years old. Many trees notable for their size and age were (or still are) oaks, once called " cassanos " by the Gauls.

An oak forest is an oak grove. Oak often forms mixed forests in association with other broadleaf trees.

The density of oak wood is between 0.61 and 0.98 (heart: 1.17).

A mature oak tree can pump up to 200 liters of water daily from a height of 30 meters. It is a heavy, hard, and durable wood. It is widely used in cabinetmaking and joinery.

The Walnut Tree:

Walnut trees, Juglans L., are a genus of trees belonging to the Juglandaceae family, native to temperate and warm regions mainly in the Northern Hemisphere (Eurasia, North America). According to Pliny the Elder and other scholars, the Latin name Juglans comes from Jovis glans, "acorn of Jupiter." Its fruit is the walnut.

Juglans are large trees with deciduous, glabrous, alternate, imparipinnate leaves with aromatic leaflets of a bitter and astringent taste, with very branched branches, and a broad, bushy crown. They are monoecious plants with separate sexes, with anemophilous pollination. The small greenish flowers are unisexual. The male flowers (staminate) are grouped in elongated spikes or catkins, they have up to 36 stamens. The female flowers (pistillate) are grouped in groups of 2 to 4, they have a bilobed stigma.

This genus is widespread mainly in the temperate and subtropical regions of Eurasia and America, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. It is completely absent, except for human introduction, from Africa and Australia. Most species are native to North America. Only one is wild in Europe: Juglans regia, the common walnut. One way of growing it is to graft fruit walnut onto an already tall trunk of wood walnut. This produces both nuts and valuable timber.

The walnut tree prevents the growth of plants growing in its vicinity: rain carries with it a compound, juglon, secreted by the walnut tree, which oxidizes once on the ground. This substance, present in the leaves and bark, inhibits seed germination and disrupts the growth of other plants. This rhizosphere-inhibiting effect may be the origin of the popular superstition that says lying under a walnut tree is dangerous (risk of being visited by the Devil, the strong smell of the walnut tree was once said to cause nausea and headaches).

These superstitions did not prevent the medieval world from using all the products of the walnut tree: wood in cabinetmaking or to make the best clogs, walnut husk as a colorant to make brown inks or as a dye for wood, fabrics and leathers, bark, leaves as a depurative, anti-scrofulous and anti-tuberculosis agent, walnut oil as a vermifuge.

Several species are cultivated for their fruits, nuts, in particular the common walnut, whose fairly large nuts have a thin shell, and the black walnut native to North America, although the nuts of the latter have a very sought-after taste, they are however more difficult to extract from their very thick shell.

Some are also cultivated for their wood, walnut is traditionally sought after for this use, both in cabinetmaking and for the manufacture of various objects, including rifle stocks. The wood of the black walnut, dense and heavy, is also very popular although of a darker color.

The Larch:

Larch (Larix) is a genus of trees in the Pinaceae family, native to the cold mountainous and boreal regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Unlike other conifers, larches are deciduous conifers.

Larches are large trees that can reach 50 meters in height. Their trunks are straight and their bark is thick and crevassed, reddish-brown. Their soft needles, arranged in deciduous rosettes, are a soft green in spring, turning golden yellow before falling in autumn.

Larch wood is prized for its strength, natural durability, and beautiful honey color. Weather-resistant, it's ideal for outdoor construction such as cabins, fences, and garden furniture. Its fine, decorative grain also makes it a popular wood for cabinetmaking and interior joinery.

Smoked Larch:

Smoked larch is a wood obtained from the European larch (Larix decidua) by a smoking process. This ancestral treatment consists of exposing freshly cut green wood to the fumes of specific wood fires in closed ovens.

This process gives the larch a beautiful dark brown, almost black color and a delicate smoky aroma. Smoking also increases the already remarkable dimensional stability and natural durability of this species.

With its warm appearance and strong grain, smoked larch is highly valued in high-end cabinetmaking for furniture, flooring, and designer interior paneling. Its qualities also make it an excellent choice for decorating your light-colored walls.

Santos Rosewood:

Santos rosewood (Machaerium scleroxylon) is a precious tropical hardwood native to Brazil. A member of the Fabaceae family, this majestic tree can grow up to 30 meters tall.

Its wood is renowned for its high density, extreme hardness, and great dimensional stability. Olive-brown in color with deep black streaks, it gives off a distinctive, powerful, and pleasant odor.

Its fine and sumptuous grain also makes it a preferred choice in luxury cabinetmaking for the creation of custom-made furniture, high-end shelves and bookcases.

The Zebrano:

Zebrawood (Microberlinia brazzavillensis) is a highly prized exotic hardwood native to Central Africa, primarily the Congo Basin. This majestic tree of the Fabaceae family can grow up to 40 meters tall.

Its evocative name refers to the remarkable alternating light and dark streaks that adorn its wood. Golden brown with deep black veins, zebrano boasts a characteristic zebra-like structure that makes it one of the most decorative woods in the world.

Dense, hard, and stable, this premium wood is highly sought after in high-end cabinetmaking for the creation of exceptional furniture, parquet floors, and paneling. Its spectacular grain also makes it a prime choice for marquetry and wood carving.

Below is a walnut bowud shelf wandering around our workshops:

Sources:

Jean-Baptiste de Vilmorin, Stories of Trees , Jean-Paul Gisserot editions, 2003, p. 55.

Antoine Kremer, Rémy-J. Petit and Alexis Ducousso, “Evolutionary biology and genetic diversity of sessile and pedunculate oaks”, Revue forestière française , vol. 54, no. 2, 2002, p. 112.

National Forestry Office

The Timber Trade

The Guide to Carpentry Woods

Thank you for reading,

The Bowud Team