622 - Tiger Myrtle

Tiger Myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii)

Tiger Myrtle is perhaps the rarest of the Myrtle colour decorations, the “tiger stripe” of contrasting dark brown - black is caused by fungal discoloration. Tiger Myrtle is most often produced from cull trees with too much centre defect to meet pulpwood specifications. The most dominant tiger stripe is displayed in quarter sawn timber.

Myrtle is a large, spreading evergreen tree up to 40 m tall with a stem diameter between 150 and 250 cm in favourable environments, but is often a dense understorey shrub 6–18 m high in wet eucalypt forest and at higher altitudes. The trunk is slightlybuttressed, fluted and often swollen at the base, with adventitious shoots. The outer bark is brown or deep red to pink, scaly and slightly fibrous and remains attached to the tree for life.

It is an excellent cabinetry timber which is hard with strong, tough, close grain. It is a soft pink, often figured and can be polished to a fine sheen. Used for flooring, joinery, cogs of wheels, and furniture. It is harvested from old growth forest but the vast majority of the timber is left on the ground as it grows with the heavily harvested mountain ash.

Size is 18mm x 18mm x 120mm.

The pen blanks are dry, they are not enclosed in wax.