Trade Names:  Laurel

Origin:  Chile

Range:  Laurel sempervirens grows between the 36th and the 47th southern parallels along the Chilean coast line. Grows in the plains and only in the lower mountain regions up to a max. altitude of 700 meters. The Laurel tree can reach a height up to 40 m with a diameter up to 2 m. The burl development is very rare and sought after. Laurel develops a dark heart which makes up to 70% of the volume but burls with as little heart as possible are desired.

Uses:  Quite popular for architectural interior woodwork and decorative single furniture, however, mainly on the American continent. In the mid 90's the automobile industry discovered Laurel Burl as an alternative to Myrtle Burl. Since then, larger quanties have been exported to Germany for dashboard productions there. If it is well-burled, the dark part generally gets bleached and is then dyed to the desired color.

Properties:  The good qualities are of a light yellow color and have tight and decorative burls with very prominent eyes. Extremely decorative surfaces can be put together when dark and light parts of the wood are arranged accordingly.

Machining:  Laurel sempervirens machines easily and well without problems using any mechanic tools.

Seasoning:  The wood must be dried very slowly and extremely carefully.