Thread: Mahonia Branch

Very observant ... full marks CB.
This shrub is a member of the Berberis family. The yellow is due to Berberin, a yellow fluorescent alkaloid. In the sun or under black (UV) light it flouresces strongly. It has nice fine medullary rays but splits badly on drying. Very VERY pretty wood for small item. Lovely ornaments & pens! Even the endgrain is pretty. It holds its colur pretty well unlike many yellow woods. Cutting stems in half longitudinally is the best way to diminish drying cracking.

Euge

(Nice ornamental shrub too with yellow flowers & blue purple berries. There are a number of species in the Mahonia group)

Thank you for the very informative reply Euge. You are correct about splitting, the piece that I cut has split all over. It has also lost some of it's colour.

I think this would make a nice door nob for a small cabinet.

It sounds like you grow some in your garden!

Cheers,

CB

Would look nice as a pen. But splitting is always a problem with this species. No I don’t have it in my garden though I be seen it over the years. It’s s curiosity & my interest has been in its chemistry & wood fluorescence.

Cheers Euge

Originally Posted by Euge

Would look nice as a pen. But splitting is always a problem with this species. No I don’t have it in my garden though I be seen it over the years. It’s s curiosity & my interest has been in its chemistry & wood fluorescence.

Cheers Euge

We know so little about probably the oldest natural resource used by human kind. The

chemistry of wood, the extractives, and other interesting "by products" are certainly gaining considerable interest as potential pesticides, drugs etc. The wood fluorescence is another area of fascination.