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Color/Appearance: Heartwood is naturally a gray to golden grown. Some trees are infected with a staining fungus which causes colorful streaks and veins of dark brown and black, giving rise to the common name Blackheart Sassafras. Sapwood is a pale yellow to whitish brown;
Grain/Texture: Grain is straight, with a uniform fine to medium texture. Low natural luster.
Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; sometimes exclusively solitary, or with radial multiples; small pores in no specific arrangement, numerous; parenchyma absent; narrow rays, spacing normal; colored heartwood fluoresces under blacklight.
Rot Resistance: Rated as non-durable to perishable.
Workability: Easy to work with both hand and machine tools. Responds well to steam-bending operations, with little spring-back. Turns, glues, stains, and finishes well.
Odor: No characteristic odor.
Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Blackheart Sassafras. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information.
Pricing/Availability: Usually only imported as smaller craft and turning blanks, larger boards and slabs are much more common within its native range in Australia. Prices with blackheart figure are likely to be much higher than unfigured pieces, sometimes referred to as Golden Sassafras.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Common Uses: Cabinetry, furniture, flooring, musical instruments, carvings, and turned objects.
Comments: Not to be confused with Common Sassafras, an unrelated species native to North America.
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