Bog-wood (also spelled bogwood or bog wood), also known as abonos and, especially amongst pipe smokers, as morta, [1] is a material from trees that have been buried in peat bogs and preserved from decay by the acidic and anaerobic bog conditions, sometimes for hundreds or even thousands of years. The wood is usually stained brown by tannins dissolved in the acidic water. Bog-wood represents the early stages in the fossilisation of wood, with further stages ultimately forming jet, lignite and coal over a period of many millions of years. Bog-wood may come from any tree species naturally growing near or in bogs, including oak (Quercus– "bog oak"), pine ( Pinus ), yew ( Taxus ), swamp cypress ( Taxodium ) and kauri ( Agathis ). Bog-wood is often removed from fields and placed in clearance cairns. It is a rare form of timber that is claimed to be "comparable to some of the world's most expensive tropical hardwoods". [1] [2]
Bog-wood is created from the trunks of trees that have lain in bogs, and bog-like conditions such as lakes, river bottoms and swamps, for centuries and even millennia. Deprived of oxygen, the wood undergoes the process of fossilization. [1]
Water flow and depth play a special role in the creation of bog-wood. Currents bind the minerals and iron in the water with tannins in the wood, naturally staining the wood in the process. This centuries-long process, often termed "maturation," turns the wood from golden-brown to completely black, while increasing its hardness to such a level that it can only be carved with the use of specialty cutting tools. [1]
While the time necessary for the oak to transform into bog-wood varies, the "maturation" commonly lasts thousands of years. Due to the ecological reasons mentioned above, no two trunks can be found of the same color. [1]
Sites of high quality bog-wood in the world are very rare. In the sites expected to yield it, bog-wood is hard to find, and access to the river bank and its bed is often difficult. Therefore, extensive preparations and the engagement of professional divers are necessary for bog-wood recovery. Bog-wood is located in conditions of total darkness, and its extraction marks its first exposure to light after centuries of entombment.
In England and Ireland, the three main types of bog-wood that can be found are yew, oak and pine. [3] Reserves of the ancient wood can also be found in Russia and Ukraine, where the northern region has a climate favorable to the growth of oak. [4]
In Croatia, bog-wood is typically found in the valley of the Sava River and its tributaries. The age of bog-wood found in Croatian rivers ranges from several hundred years in the southern rivers to the oldest retrieved so far, from the Krapina River, dated at 8290 years old. [1]
In Serbia, bog-wood over 8,000 years old is found in the valleys of the Danube River, Sava River and their tributaries, primarily in the province of Vojvodina.
Saving the wood for further processing is a very delicate matter. Extracted logs must be wrapped in waterproof material and meticulously dried to prevent warping. The process of wood desiccation is complex, and despite great care, most of the raw wood is unsuitable for further processing. For this reason, the price of high quality raw bog-wood is quite high. [1]
Bog-wood is characterized by natural staining and variations in color, and the direction of growth rings. Well preserved bog-wood is not affected by weather conditions or organisms which would change its strength and appearance. Semi-dry bog-wood is sometimes of a golden or copper color, [5] or with a tint of some other hue, and is exceptionally hard. Older wood can be completely black, yet possess the rich variations in hue characteristic of “live” wood. This dark hue is a special feature of bog-wood as a construction material, whether it is used for the making of semi-manufactured goods, veneer or planks. [1]
Because bog-wood can remain free of decay for thousands of years it is of use in dendrochronology, often providing records much older than living trees. Wooden artifacts lost or buried in bogs become preserved as bog-wood, and are important in archaeology.
Bog-wood may be used in joinery to make furniture or wood carving. Bog-wood sometimes has aesthetically interesting shapes (similar to driftwood) and may be used as ornaments. As bog-wood dries out, it may crack or split, but this does not necessarily detract from its aesthetic qualities. Due to its natural color, it is a traditionally favored wood for the carving of dirks (bìodagan) and sgian-dubh in the Scottish Highlands.
Bog-wood is used in aquaria for ornaments, providing hiding places for fish and a growing surface for plants such as Java fern. Additionally, the leaching of organic compounds such as tannins into the water causes a brown coloration.
During the nineteenth century bog oak was used to make carved decorative items such as jewelry [6] and in some parts of the world it is still used to craft unique artifacts. [7] Prized in the Tudor period for its dark hue, bog oak was used to construct the throne of Peter the Great as well in the construction of Venetian palaces and the bedroom suite of Louis XIV. [8] [9]
One of the uses of bog-wood is for making of tobacco pipes. It is an ideal material because of a high percentage of minerals, reaching up to 12%, which makes bog-wood especially resistant to burning. Because underground currents erase all traces of tannin, resin and similar ingredients in bog-wood, pipes constructed of the ancient wood provide a neutral taste during tobacco smoking. Due to the challenges of extraction and processing, today there are a relatively small number of pipemakers who make pipes out of bog-wood. [1]
In addition to pipes, bog-wood has traditionally been used to construct decorative objects and items for everyday use. It has also been utilized as a tonewood in the construction of high-end guitars. Today, modern drying techniques have made it possible to preserve larger planks of bog oak that are suitable for floor coverings, furniture, doors, window frames, and sculptures. [1]
A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simple machine-made briar models to highly prized hand-made artisanal implements made by renowned pipemakers, which are often very expensive collector's items. Pipe smoking is the oldest known traditional form of tobacco smoking.
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinetry, furniture making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack.
Tannins are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity.
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials – often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens. A bayhead is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the United States. They are often covered in heath or heather shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a carbon sink.
Agathis australis, or kauri, is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae, found north of 38°S in the northern regions of New Zealand's North Island.
Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity, it often attains a height around 30 m (100 ft). Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn.
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, and throughout Mexico. Manzanitas can live in places with poor soil and little water. They are characterized by smooth orange or red bark and stiff, twisting branches. There are 105 species and subspecies of manzanita, 95 of which are found in the Mediterranean climate and colder mountainous regions of California, ranging from ground-hugging coastal and mountain species to small trees up to 20 feet (6m) tall. Manzanitas bloom from winter to early spring and carry berries in spring and summer. The berries and flowers of most species are edible.
Tannic acid is a specific form of tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity (pKa around 6) is due to the numerous phenol groups in the structure. The chemical formula for commercial tannic acid is often given as C76H52O46, which corresponds with decagalloyl glucose, but in fact it is a mixture of polygalloyl glucoses or polygalloyl quinic acid esters with the number of galloyl moieties per molecule ranging from 2 up to 12 depending on the plant source used to extract the tannic acid. Commercial tannic acid is usually extracted from any of the following plant parts: Tara pods (Caesalpinia spinosa), gallnuts from Rhus semialata or Quercus infectoria or Sicilian sumac leaves (Rhus coriaria).
Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a vessel like stainless steel. Oak barrels can impart other qualities to wine through evaporation and low level exposure to oxygen.
Panelling is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials.
Wood finishing refers to the process of refining or protecting a wooden surface, especially in the production of furniture where typically it represents between 5 and 30% of manufacturing costs.
Rubberwood is a light-colored medium-density tropical hardwood obtained from the Pará rubber tree, usually from trees grown in rubber plantations. Rubberwood is commonly advertised as an "environmentally friendly" wood, as it makes use of plantation trees that have already served a useful function.
Heat bending is the procedure of bending wood into different curves and shapes using moisture and a bending iron. By placing the wood into water, the moisture and heat from the bending iron will reform the structure of the wood, reorganizing the fibers of the wood to prevent the wood from springing back to its original state. This process is usually used for woodworking, as well as making the sides or "ribs" for stringed musical instruments.
Swamp kauri, sometimes marketed as "ancient kauri", are prehistoric kauri trees, buried and preserved in peat up to 50,000 years ago in New Zealand's North Island. Buried under a peat swamp by an unexplained act of nature at the end of the last Ice Age, the trees have survived the centuries underground, sealed in a chemically balanced environment that has preserved the timber in almost perfect condition.
In archaeology, waterlogging refers to the long-term exclusion of air by groundwater, which creates an anaerobic environment that can preserve artifacts perfectly. Such waterlogging preserves perishable artifacts. Thus, in a site which has been waterlogged since the archaeological horizon was deposited, exceptional insight may be obtained by study of artifacts made of leather, wood, textile or similar materials. 75-90% of the archaeological remains at wetland sites are found to be organic material. Tree rings found from logs that have been preserved allow archaeologists to accurately date sites. Wetland sites include all those found in lakes, swamps, marshes, fens, and peat bogs.
Telur pindang or pindang eggs are hard-boiled eggs cooked in the pindang process, originating from Javanese cuisine, Indonesia, and popular in Malay as well as Palembang cuisine. The eggs are boiled slowly in water mixed with salt, soy sauce, shallot skins, teak leaf, and other spices. Due to its origins, it bears striking similarities with Chinese tea eggs. However, instead of black tea, this version uses leftover shallot skins, teak leaves or guava leaves as dark brownish coloring agents.
Boiled fish, or more precisely salt-boiled fish, is fish boiled with salt and thus preserved for later consumption. Although this method is used in other parts of the world, it is of major commercial significance only in Southeast Asia. The shelf life of products so treated can range from as little as one or two days, up to several months. In Indonesia, this fish preservation method is known as pindang.