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VIBURNUM

Viburnum spp.

Viburnum spp. of the family Adoxaceae. The genus Viburnum consists of over 100 shrubs and very small trees worldwide. Of these, about 30 both grow in the USA and are large enough to produce at least pen-blank sized pieces. Of those, at least the following 8 have "viburnum" as all or part of one or more of their common names and it is those 8 that I intend to have on this page. Another common name that you see for some of these species is black haw and I've included one species on this list (Viburnum rufidulum) that only has the common name black haw and not (as far as I know) viburnum

Viburnum acerifolium --- maple-leaf viburnum
Viburnum carlesii --- Korean spice viburnum
Viburnum cassinoides --- witherod viburnum
Viburnum ellipticum --- Oregon viburnum
Viburnum japonica --- Japanese viburnum
Viburnum lentago --- sweet viburnum, black haw
Viburnum nudum --- possum haw viburnum
Viburnum obovatum --- small viburnum, black haw
Viburnum prunifolium --- black haw viburnum, black haw
Viburnum rufidulum --- black haw, Southern black haw, rusty black haw

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions


both sides of a sample plank of sweet viburnum / Viburnum lentago --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of sweet viburnum / Viburnum lentago --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of sweet viburnum / Viburnum lentago --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of sweet viburnum / Viburnum odoratissimum --- HUGE enlargements are present.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of black haw viburnum / Viburnum prunifolium --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of black haw viburnum / Viburnum prunifolium --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Oregon viburnum / Viburnum ellipticum --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Oregon viburnum / Viburnum ellipticum --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Oregon viburnum / Viburnum ellipticum --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Korean spice viburnum / Viburnum carlesii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of viburnum (possum haw) / Viburnum cassinoides --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. NOTE: I believe the "possom haw" designation that the vendor uses is incorrect and the correct common name for this species is witherod viburnum.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above. The pink tint on the end grain closeup is not a true wood color, it's an artifact of the 1200 grit sandpaper used.


This pic and the pieces of wood were sent to me by Neil DeJazzd, whom I thank. Neil believes it to be rusty black haw (viburnum rufidulum) but he is not 100% sure, just that it IS a viburnum / black haw wood. My own pics of the pieces are directly below.


two small planks and the end grain of the upper one --- as you can see from the Neil's pic above, the piece was only lightly cracked when I got it, but the cracks opened up quite a bit before I got around to taking my own pics.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from the lower plank in the left pic above. The color is correct even thought it is significantly different than the color before the fine sanding (which is ALSO correct).

web pics:


stump cross section showing what I think is a triple trunk


plank listed as maple leaf viburnum / Viburnum acerifolium