WOODS THAT ARE SAFE
Cottonwood
Apple
Willow (BUT stick with Goat, Weeping or Pussy Willow)
Pear
Mulberry
Crab-apple
Hazelnut
Dogwoods
Chinese Dogwood
Horse Apple
Kiwi
Pine (kiln dried & untreated with preservatives etc)
Bamboo
Grape
Manzanita
Hawthorn (although safe thorns are best removed before use)
Magnolia
Pecan
Birch- several varieties are safe, White, grey, broadleaf, silver and common birch wood are regarded as safe to use.
But others can be quite dangerous, so if in doubt it’s best left alone. The Leaves and bark contain salicylates and substances with haemolytic properties (destroy red blood cells). Salicylate concentrations are however very low
Quince
Loquat
Medlar
Rowanberry
Larch
Chinese Gooseberry
Longan
Lychee
Magnolia
Oak (Bark is safe and is used in remedies and as a treat for various small mammals)
Alderberry (red and white)
Ribbonwood
Poplar
Aspen
Ash (be careful of the seeds as they contain small quantities of hydrogen cyanide)
Elm
Sycamore
Cottonwood
Arbutus
Sickle bush (sekelbos)
Limetree - (Tiliaceae) other names- Linden and Basswood, is regarded as a safe wood to use.
Woods that are generally regarded as unsafe
Apricot
Alder Buckworth wood (bird cherry)- fresh bark is a purgative so best avoided
Cashew
Clematis
Cedar (including litter cedar shavings)
Cherry
All Citrus woods such as orange, grapefruit, lemon or lime (and stone)
Elderberry bushes
Chestnut
Eucalyptus
Spruce
Fir
Aralia Spinosa ( Devil's walking stick or Hercules’ club)
Juniper
FRESH CUT Pine (Mainly USA,see note in safe woods)
Walnut
Rosewood
Black locust
Maple
Blackwood
Almond
Mahogany
Plum
Cherry
Rambutan
Boxwood
Box Elder
Chinese snake tree (very poisonous to humans)
Cypress
Ebony
Greenheart
Ginko
Hemlock
Hydrangea
Iroko
Hornbeam
Katon
Laurel
Maple
Myrtle
Obeche
Ramin
Rhodedendron
Satinwood
Sandlewood
Sneezewood
Teak
Wenge
Yew
Pulasan
Poison Oak
Poison Ivy
Tallow
All redwoods
OTHER TOXIC WOODS ARE MAN-MADE BOARD’S such as Chipboard, Plywood, Block board, Fibreboard (MDF), Hardboard, etc, as the glues used to bind the boards are toxic.
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