With thanks to the Sir Ralph Perring Bequest and The Worshipful Company Of Furniture Makers. A British native of chalk downland and limestone soils, often as understorey in oak woods. Also found in North Africa, S.W. Asia and Europe. All parts are poisonous.
Trees can live for thousands of years.
The beauty of its smooth, red-brown heartwood, often flushed with crimson or purple, is unsurpassed in any of our native timbers. Sapwood, in contrast, is creamy yellow. The characteristic knots, in-grown bark and shakes are regarded as part of its charm. It dries rapidly with little distortion and there is very small movement in use. Its great flexibility was, most famously, exploited for the making of longbows.