COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
CCJ #8: Wood

“I will conquer him in his cedar wood and show the strength of the sons of Uruk, all the world shall know of it. I am committed to this enterprise: to climb the mountain, to cut down the cedar, and leave behind me an enduring name.” -Epic of Gilgamesh

Types of wood

Over 60,000 distinct types of tree cover the earth. Some, like the aspen, have tremendous range and cover continents. Some are limited to fewer than a dozen members of the family. Some live and die in a few short years, while others may have single members older than the human race. All are broadly defined into two groups: Hardwoods are sourced from broad-leafed deciduous trees, which drop their leaves each autumn. Softwoods come from conifers, named for their seed cones, and usually retain their needles year-round. In general, hardwoods are harder than softwoods, though the hardwood balsa and the softwood yew are the best-known exceptions to each case.

Properties of wood

The key characteristics of wood, from an engineering perspective, are density, hardness, elasticity, and rupture strength. All of these properties except density are anisotropic, or different in different directions. Anyone who has chopped down a tree and split it to lumber knows this; because the cells that grow to form a tree align vertically, they are hard to cut across but easy to split along. Most wooden items, therefore, are designed so that the grain of the wood is oriented across the direction requiring the greatest strength. An oar will have the grain run the length of it, for example, so that it will not split when pulled in the current.

Density is important for several reasons, none more important than buoyancy. Some woods, like lignum vitae or ebony, are so dense that they will sink in water. Others, like balsa, float light as a feather. Lower density also often results in lower workability and quality of worked surfaces, and the other properties of interest discussed here more or less scale with density. Hardness matters for maintaining a finish without scratches or dents- important if you would like two pieces of wood to slide on one another. At the same time, however, hard woods dull tools more quickly and are overall more difficult to work. The rupture strength is the actual force required to break the wood, while elasticity quantifies how far a wood will bend before it breaks, which is a quality superior to all others for the production of longbows.

Common trees in diverse biomes

Aspen: (sub)Alpine forest

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rwshea/15215265767/in/photolist-pbwdqp-LxDjWP-psYhCE-yXz8dA-gLUuLc Pando Aspen Colony, UT

Quaking Aspen is the most widely distributed species of tree in North America. [1] Depending on the local climate, aspen varies greatly in size and shape, from stunted shrubs shorter than a man in the alpine regions, to massive trees of 100 feet/30 meters in wet, cool mixed forest where frequent fires help keep the more dominate conifers from shading out young shoots. Aspen shoots are connected to root systems that are often large and out of sight. Clonal colonies, so-called because what appears to be a forest is actually many shoots of a single genetically identical tree, can survive fires, logging, grazing, and disease before springing forth new life. Utah’s Wasatch Range is home to a single aspen tree that covers over 100 acres of forest. Named Pando, Latin for “I Spread”, the tree is estimated to be at least 10,000 years and perhaps up to 80,000 years old. Each individual shoot lives for perhaps 100 years before its replacement by a fresh member. Such a legendary tree could only be killed by concentrated effort or decisive climatic change. [2]

Cedar: Semi-arid desert

The Cedar of Lebanon was one of the renowned trees of the ancient world. Filling the mountain slopes of the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus, is was highly sought after for the construction of temples, ships, and luxury articles of all sorts. Its leaves were distilled into cedar oil, used as a preservative, insecticide, embalmment, and as a base for paint pigments. The Egyptians constructed their war fleet of cedar, and burned the scrap into charcoal.

Yew: Broadleaf forest

Yew grows in mixed forests as an understory to oak or other broadleaf hardwoods. Its wood is harvested for the classic stave of the English longbow; along with a few other woods, it must be in the discussion for which timber has had the most outsized effects on human history. Long, long before English archers routed the French men-at-arms at Agincourt, hunters were stringing bows made of yew. Over five thousand years ago, the man we now call Ötzi (the Iceman) died in the Italian Alps, still carrying his yew-handled copper axe and yew longbow.

Eucalyptus: Savannah

The Cerrado of Brasil is one of the world’s richest savannahs, and Eucalyptus is one of its signature products. Originally native to Australia and rarely found elsewhere, eucalyptus have been transplanted around the world. In Brasil, the fast growing eucalyptus is an incredibly important part of the economy. Eucalyptus plantations greatly reduce destruction of native tree species and rainforest, while providing mass quantities of wood for two important Brasilian industries: pulp for paper and charcoal for steel. The oily leaves can be steam distilled for eucalyptus oil and used for massage, as an insect repellent, or a natural anti-inflammatory or a remedy for cold or fever.

Mangrove: Saltwater mangroves

You can’t have a proper mangrove swamp without mangrove trees, and so that’s what we’ll dig into here. The term mangrove actually is used to designate a special type of tidal wetland that composes some 25% of the tropical coast around the world. The tree roots readily, and farmers use new shoots to reclaim silty tidewaters and to construct living traps for fish and shrimp. Stilt dwellings, wharfs, and various boats and canoes are all still made from mangrove wood, which has high levels of tannin that serves to preserve the wood against decay and borer damage while submerged. The same tannin is extracted from the bark for tanning of leather on all coasts of the Indian Ocean, while the wood supplies high-quality charcoal and the fruit and sap and other parts of the tree are turned to food and wine and medicine. [3]

Bald Cypress: Swamplands

Oaxaca Bald Cypress

The Bald Cypress got its name as a conifer that drops its needles each fall. Like most conifers, its wood is naturally resinous or oily, and this helps to preserve cypress lumber against the elements, rot, and insect attack. Some grow as large as the giant sequoia on the opposite American coast, reaching heights of well over 100 feet over the course of a thousand years. Swamps sometimes yield ancient logs of enormous size, well preserved despite their long immersion.

Brasil Nut: Tropical Rainforest

The Brasil Nut shadows the rain forest canopy of the Amazon with its impressive height, and its roots delve so deep and so wide that the nuts for which it is named have unusually high levels of trace minerals from the soil. The nuts are hidden within a fruit about the size of a coconut, and fall well over a hundred feet to the rainforest floor at speeds approaching 50 miles an hour. Local rodents gnaw them open and move the nuts about like acorns from oaks, and the trees tend to grow in small groves as a result. The nuts are very high in fatty acids and oils, and are often pressed to extract the oil. The lumber is of good quality, though it is no longer legally logged.

Willow: Freshwater wetlands

Willow, and other trees in the same family, are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, especially near running water. Their flexible young branches are easily bent and woven to form baskets, fish traps, fences, and (when covered in clay or plaster) walls. Wattle and daub, as the construction is called, was the forerunner of the lath and plaster walls that yielded to modern drywall. The bark famously contains salicylic acid, known today as Aspirin, but known from the even most ancient of texts as a cure for fever and pain.

Few trees: Grasslands

Grasslands will have trees along the fringe or near settled areas, but by and large the growth of large flora is hindered by frequent fires. Trees might be imported and thrive in this biome, but would likely be valued for their shade or other useful features if found in a new area.

No trees: Tundra, Steppe, Arid desert

Too cold, too dry, or both, these biomes see very few trees of any size.

A forested world

Some trees may overlap many biomes; some will be unique to one. The combination of properties of a piece of lumber is unique to a species (allowing for minor variation in growing condition), and without ever considering the color, grain or beauty of a piece of lumber, they may provide reason to import wood from afar.

References

[1] J.B. Mitton and M.C. Grant, “Genetic Variation and the Natural History of Quaking Aspen,” Bioscience 46[1] (1996) Link

[2] M. Grant and J.B. Mitton, “Case Study: The Glorious, Golden, and Gigantic Quaking Aspen,” Nature Education Knowledge 3[10] (2010) Link

[3] W.M. Bandaranayake, “Traditional and medicinal uses of mangroves,” Mangroves and Salt Marshes 2 (1998)

If you found this post interesting and informative, please check out the series!

5/19/2017 6:29:24 AM #1

Lots of talk lately about biomes, and how they could be unique. I decided to shelve an entry that I was working on for woodworking and take a minute to write about wood and how it varies from place to place. There's even some hints of what legendary trees could look like. Hope you enjoy, and please tell us about trees and thing made from them that you enjoy!

5/19/2017 6:31:20 AM #2

This deserves to be a DJ of it's own


5/19/2017 6:37:36 AM #3

Posted By Yorick at 11:31 PM - Thu May 18 2017

This deserves to be a DJ of it's own

Here's hoping! Even just picking one tree from the major biomes gives you a lot of variety, and of course most of the biomes would have more than just one.

5/19/2017 9:14:13 AM #4

Pretty good information, however, i find offense in that the mighty dragon tree is not in your post.

image 1

Dragos en la Laguna by Jose Mesa is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

image 2

Ancient Specimen at Icod de los Vinos by Miguel303xm is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5

Pino Santo by Marianne Perdomo is licenced under GFDL

Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena Cinnabari) by Rod Waddington is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The genus dracaena needs some attention i think.

Good thread Huntmaster, as always.

Edit: I added all the copyright stuff. Just to be sure.


5/19/2017 3:46:11 PM #5

Excellent post!

A little sad that there was no mighty oak or redwood picture, though. Ha


5/19/2017 4:01:47 PM #6

Posted By Hludowig at 5/19/2017 9:14:13 AM

Pretty good information, however, i find offense in that the mighty dragon tree is not in your post.

Dude. I'd never heard of this tree, but it looks pretty cool!

5/19/2017 5:09:22 PM #7

Posted By Huntsmaster at 5:01 PM - Fri May 19 2017

Dude. I'd never heard of this tree, but it looks pretty cool!

Its sap, known as "dragon's blood", can be used for many things.


5/21/2017 11:34:34 PM #8

Posted By Civil at 08:46 AM - Fri May 19 2017

Excellent post!

A little sad that there was no mighty oak or redwood picture, though. Ha

Well, I figured that was territory pretty well covered already by others. ;-)

To make up for that deficiency, I was hiking out in the woods this weekend , so here are a few pictures of our typical PNW mixed forests!

Cedar stumps, with Douglas fir, alder, and more cedar in the background.

Devil's Walking Stick (Oplopanax horridus). Thorniest plant stem I've ever seen. Later in the summer it'll have berries, but they aren't tasty.

Friendly neighborhood millipede (Harpaphe haydeniana). These little things are a couple inches long, and have ability to secrete cyanide gas when bothered. He's about as close to my camera as I want him to get!

5/22/2017 2:41:45 AM #9

You get a huge + from me. Bang up job on this.

5/22/2017 7:02:59 AM #10

Your material/crafts posts are always fab! Thanks for that =)


5/22/2017 7:20:19 AM #11

The Terms "hardwood" and "softwood" do not mean one is "harder" or "softer" it just means the growing time of them.

For example Hardwood takes more then 25 years to grow, Softwood takes less then 25 years to grow.


5/22/2017 1:49:19 PM #12

Posted By Maulvorn at 12:20 AM - Mon May 22 2017

The Terms "hardwood" and "softwood" do not mean one is "harder" or "softer" it just means the growing time of them.

For example Hardwood takes more then 25 years to grow, Softwood takes less then 25 years to grow.

This is just not correct, at least not by the US definition. As discussed in the OP:

Posted By Huntsmaster at

Hardwoods are sourced from broad-leafed deciduous trees, which drop their leaves each autumn. Softwoods come from conifers, named for their seed cones, and usually retain their needles year-round. In general, hardwoods are harder than softwoods, though the hardwood balsa and the softwood yew are the best-known exceptions to each case.

It's true that a tree that grows more slowly will be harder than a tree of the same species that grows more quickly, but the length of time spent growing is not used in a definitional sense. A spruce does not become a hardwood just because it's growing in the alpine tundra and takes a century to reach three feet in height.

8/13/2017 8:57:02 PM #13

Depending on how detailed SBS wants to be with flora/fauna variety we could have a lot of forest products available. Each Kingdom could end up with their own 'best bow wood' their own 'best home framing wood' and their own 'best ivory'.

Ideally, trees expanses (thus, the availability of their products) wouldn't be hard set at the edge of a biome, but smeared randomly through what appears to be a natural range of sites they can thrive in, or tolerate. An example: (Cottonwood) growing all along the (Mississippi) river through it's long North to South extent, an area through several biomes from subtropical swamps to the harsh mixed hardwoods of (Minnesotta). And expanding over the first rows of hills into other region types where it is less suitable, less abundant, but still present.

Should someone from another continent than where (Cottonwood) started want to bring that tree home on a ship so their homelands' eagles can have such an ideal riverside perching tree: they can do so and it will be invasive there.


I'm a forester. A man who takes trees that are all different and cuts them into boards that are all the same / Seeds that are all the same, and grows them into trees that are all different.

8/13/2017 10:16:09 PM #14

Good post thanks.


Friend code: FF2B6D
8/13/2017 10:33:07 PM #15

Posted By MatthewDKiefer at 1:57 PM - Sun Aug 13 2017

Depending on how detailed SBS wants to be with flora/fauna variety we could have a lot of forest products available. Each Kingdom could end up with their own 'best bow wood' their own 'best home framing wood' and their own 'best ivory'.

Yep! I think my ideal would be to have a true "best" material for many crafting applications, but have most biomes contain a material almost as good. Then you can be "good enough" with the local materials, but to be truly great you might need something rare and sought after, worth traveling a long and arduous trade route to obtain. An example of this is how the English Yew makes a good bow, but Spanish sources were even better and worth trading for in the eyes of the English.

Ideally, trees expanses (thus, the availability of their products) wouldn't be hard set at the edge of a biome, but smeared randomly through what appears to be a natural range of sites they can thrive in, or tolerate.

Oh, agreed. My goal in the OP was to give people an idea of the kinds of trees that might be found in different biomes, but I think we can (and should!) expect that some trees will span multiple biomes, and some biomes may have no trees at all.