Best woods for bow making

Yew (Taxus Baccata) The "Longbows" used historically in Europe were made from the wood of this tree species. The wood of the Yew tree is both strong and flexible.

"Yew forests were once common in France and Germany. The wood of the English Yew was used for bows by Celtic and Teutonic warriors, a practice which eventually led to the demise of the great Yew forests of Western Europe. In Teutonic areas the Yew had important symbolic significance."

Pacific (Oregon) yew (Taxus brevifolia) Today the "Oregon Yew" is the Yew tree species of choice for bows made from Yew wood.

Osage orange, Hedge Apple or "Bodark" (Maclura pomifera) A highly prized wood for bow making although its high price might put it out of the price range of some.

Lemonwood also called Degame (Calycophyllum candidissimum) is a quality wood from South America that is used as an economic alternative to Osage or Yew.

Pignut Hickory or White wood - (species: Carya glabra)


Black locust - (Robinia pseudoacacia)
"Black locust is a good bow wood. It performs as good as any wood at smaller widths except for Osage. It also can have a tendency to crystallize on the belly where it is over worked. Any bow made from Black Locust will have to be tillered very well. Any faults in tillering could result in crystals forming."

Black walnut - (Juglans nigra L.)
Black Walnut is used for its beauty as a wood. The striking contrast between the heart wood and the sap wood makes for a great two toned effect.

Other trees used for bows include...

• Southern red cedar, 
• mulberry, ironwood, 
• apple, 
• sassafras,
• slippery elm, 
• white ash, 
• juniper

Norway Spruce - Picea abies

The Norway Spruce tree (species: Picea abies) is native to most of Europe from the Pyrenees mountains north to Norway and east all the way to Russia and the Balkans. It is widely used as a Christmas tree as it is fairly easy to grow in a wide variety of growing conditions. It is also comercialy exploited for its wood which sometimes sold under the names "Baltic Whitewood" and "White Deal".{1} It is a soft wood that is used in paper production as well as in inexpensive furniture.
This tree species is also widely planted in parks and gardens as an ornamental tree. Among is many cultivars are; Pyramidata, Pendula, Inversa, Cupressina, Viminalis, Tuberculata, Argentea, Finedonensis, Laxa, Cincinnata and Cranstonii. In some regions that tree can reach heights of up to 45 meters (147 feet).
The top image above of the complete Norway Spruce tree was taken in southern Germany near the Black Forrest. The rest of the images were taken in the small ski resort town of "La Molina" that is a few hours drive north of Barcelona, Spain.
The cones of the Norway Spruce are long and thin (they get a bit wider at full maturity when the scales open up to release the seeds). Most of the cones that I have seen are 4-6 inches in length. They are the longest of the Picea genus.
Common names for this tree in other languages; Spanish- Picea común or Picea de Noruega, French - épicéa commun, Italian - picea comune, German - Fichte.

Check out a Norway Spruce tree in Madrid that has been taken over by green parrots.

1. Arboles de España y de Europa, David More and John White, Ediciones Omega. 2003.

Kurrajong trees - Brachychiton genus

This post is a response to a reader comment left by sfk.hooper who made the observation that none of my blog posts about Brachychiton trees had pictures of the whole specimens. I went back and double checked and discovered that he/she was quite right for every one except the B. acerifolius tree for which I did have a picture of the complete tree in bloom. At any rate here are some pictures of six different types of Brachychiton trees showing the whole specimen.
The first image (above) is of three Brachychiton discolor which goes by common names Lacebark tree, Bottle tree, or Bush Kurrajong (I have found that there is quite a bit of confusion on the web when it comes to the common names of trees in the Brachychiton genus.
The second image (above) is of a mature B. populneus tree that is often called the Kurrajong (in my post on this tree I called it the Lacebark Kurrajong but I stand to be corrected if this is not the proper name).
The third image (above) is of the B. discolor which goes by the names Bush Kurrajong or Scrub bottletree.
The next tree (above) is the Brachychiton discolor x acerifolius which is a hybrid that is called "Clarabelle"
The next tree (above) is a B. bidwillii that is called the Little Kurrajong.

The last tree is the B. acerifolius, also known as the "flametree". Follow the link to find out why it is called the Flametree.

Osage Orange by the Eiffel Tower in Paris

On a recent trip to Paris, France I came across a must unlikely tree while wandering around the gardens that surround the Eiffel Tower. I think that I must be one of the very few people who would take less notice of the steel tower and more notice of the trees that grow at its colossal feet. At any rate, one of the interesting trees that I found was an Osage Orange (species: Maclura pomifera). The tree partially blocking the view of the tower in the image above is one of the three trunks of this tree. The picture below is from another angle.

This Osage Orange is located roughly 100 yards from the south side of the Eiffel Tower along a highly transited pathway. I was not really sure what species of tree it was until I spotted a few of the "oranges" in the upper branches and then found one on the ground that had fallen off (below).
The leaves were beginning to change color but most were still green.
Judging from the trunks this tree has been growing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower for a good number of years. I wonder how many people in all those years have stopped to take notice of it?