For Beauty, durability, and
lasting value,
Oregon Myrtlewood has no equal!

The Oregon Myrtlewood tree grows uncultivated, only in a small area along the Pacific Coast. It is of the Laurel Family (Lauraceae), as are Greecian bay laurel, camphor, cinnamon, sassafras, and avocado. Oregon Myrtlewood sometimes goes by other folk names such as Coos Bay Laurel or bay and pepperwood. All are one-in-the-same, botanically classified as Umbellularia California.

The Myrtlewood tree is a broad-leaf evergreen which keeps its leaves for two or three years and them year around, a few at a time. The shape of the mature three has been likened to a gum-drop and may grow to a height of 60 to 80 feet. The tree is easily identified by crushing a few of its lanceolate leaves for the pungent, spicy odor. Perfume, incense, and scented candles are made from the oil in the leaves. If dried, the leaves can be used as food-seasoning in much the same manner as the true bay leaf. Tiny yellowish-green blossoms appear in winter or early spring. The fruit or nit is olive-like in shape and size. The new saplings propagate from the nut. It is very bitter to taste and seldom eaten. More often, the nuts are dried and strung as beads for necklaces.

No large stands of this unique tree are to be found. Nearly all of the remaining Myrtlewood is scattered in small groves throughout the lower valleys along the rivers of Southwestern Oregon and the southern Pacific Coast. Centuries are required to grow a Myrtlewood tree large enough to yield board-lumber.

Some of these trees have stood throughout American history, having started even before the European discovery of this continent.

No other hardwood excels Oregon Myrtlewood in beauty of grain and variety of coloring. Golden tans and muted reds, yellow greens and soft grays, ash blonds and seal browns, often patterned with velvet black for striking designs within the wood. Here is nature's artistry unsurpassed!

Green, unseasoned Myrtlewood logs will not float. They must be hand-logged and hauled to the sawmill where they are cut into slabs from one to eight inches in thickness. The slabs are stacked in drying sheds, protected from direct rays of the sun, but given free circulation of air. For each inch of board thickness, almost one year of air-seasoning is required.

When the slabs are taken to the factory, the artist-craftsman uses great care in selecting just the right grain and color for the articles he has in mind. After marking, then bandsawing, the pieces are roughed-out to approximate size and shape. As soon as the wood is sufficiently cured, the "rough-outs" are put back on the lathe. Only the eye, hand, and skill of the craftsman guide the chisel as he fashions each piece individually. After sanding, the pieces are sent to the finishing room, where much time is devoted to applying a fine finish which will protect the wood as well as enhance the grain and color.