7/8" X 7/8" X 5"

afzelia xylocarpa

Afzelia wood is a rare hardwood and highly prized, giving an outstanding finish. The wood is hard, heavy and dense and develops a beautiful patina as it ages. The Xylay figure is highly valued for its attractive and unpredictable burl and wavy grain patterns ranging from a “Snakeskin” to Alligator Skin” like figure.

Afzelia is considered as a large-sized tree with an average life of 200-300 years. It can reach 30 meters in height and more than a meter in diameter. The seed pulp is used in making cigarettes and the bark is used in traditional herbal health drinks. The buried wood near the base of the trunk is especially valued. An old Afzelia tree can measure up to almost two meters in diameter. It has a light brown or brownish pink bark. The wood is very dense and durable. Its burled grain stems from damage to its trunk caused by an insect's bite or mold. It automatically produces the burl to rehabilitate itself. The burl normally grows out close to its root or a few meters higher up. This special grain without any conduit can be as large as one meter wide; but normally it is considerably a small piece of wood, compared to the whole tree. To get a large piece will take almost a generation.

Origin: S.E. Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma.