Pepperwood or California Bay Laurel (Umbelluria californica)

• An evergreen tree with long oval leaves 3-6”. Leaves have strong spicy odor. Bark is gray and flaky, commonly moss-covered. Small green flowers in early spring, producing green nutlets. Growth tends to broad spreading crown with large trunk. Native along west coast from Oregon down to central California.
• Characteristics of Wood: Slightly hard and moderately light. Wood pale white when freshly cut, oxidizing to reddish tan, commonly with blue/purple mineral streaks. Freshly cut wood has same odor as leaves, but weaker. High strength relative to weight. Extremely dimensionally stable with moisture change. Grain very wavy and therefore difficult to work with edge tools. Tends to resist splitting and abrasion well. Trees reach enormous size and produce clear wood as well as grown shapes. Very rot resistant if growing at elevation, very poor resistance otherwise. Reason for distinction unknown.

• A deciduous tree with many small pinnately compound leaves, dark blue green in color. Dark brown bark thickly furrowed into long forking ridges, often with a gray lichen coating. Flowers in late spring with many clusters of showy white blooms. Fruit consists of long seedpods. Growth form tends toward many upright crooked branches. Native to eastern central US, but now naturalized from Maine to California. Planted widely for shelterbelts and ornamentals. Grows and spreads rapidly.
• Characteristics of Wood: Extremely hard and heavy. Wood having yellow-green cast when freshly cut, oxidizing to a faint orange. Very strong, possibly the strongest native timber per dimensional unit. Grain tends to be wavy, making it difficult to work with edge tools, as well as difficult to split. Crooked branching growth form makes clear lengths difficult to find but produces many useful “grown” shapes. When straight grained locust bends very well with steam. Extremely rot resistant.

Black Cherry (Prunus secortina)

• A deciduous tree with single elliptical leaves 2-4” long. Smooth dark grey bark becoming fissured and scaly. Growth tends to long upright trunk and uneven crown. Small white flowers spread along drooping stem appear in mid-spring. Native and common east of the plains. Cherry is heavily harvested for furniture and paneling.
• Characteristics of Wood: Moderately hard and heavy. Wood pink when freshly cut, oxidizing to dark red/maroon over time. Tough and flexible, cherry steam bends well. It often grows with wavy grain, creating problems in tooling with blades. Growth form makes clear lengths readily obtainable.

Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

• An aromatic evergreen with small pointed needles growing in flat opposite pairs. Light reddish brown bark growing in narrow shedding strips. Produces small upright elliptical cones. Except in dense stands, this cedar grows with many branches in tall narrow cone. Native from New York north to S. Canada, Maine west to Minnesota.
• Characteristics of Wood: Soft and extremely light. Wood ranging from white to reddish. Good strength relative to low weight and tends to be flexible. Very dimensionally stable with moisture changes. Grain tends to be even and consistent, making it a joy to work with edge tools. Resins tend to build up on cutting points of power tools. Unfortunately clear lengths difficult to obtain. Very rot resistant.