Alter Aeon The Great Library

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Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  2890
Title: a book titled 'Rare Woods and Where to Find Them'

Some types of wood, while useful, are extremely common. You can find oaks
and pines in nearly any sort of terrain across the whole world. Maples, 
birches, beeches, poplar and common fruiting trees such as peaches and
apples are widespread. There are many species, however, that occur only in
isolated pockets. This guide will give you an idea of where to find certain
rare woods.

Mangrove trees are found in several coastal locations, however, only on the
island of Sloe do they attain sufficient size and quality to be useful for
woodcrafting. Exotic mangrove wood can be gathered mainly in the wetlands
on the southeast coast of the island.

Torchwood is an unusual tree found only on Kordan. It has thick black resin
that smells of tar. It makes fine firewood, but its bracing aroma and
slightly sticky texture make it highly desireable for weapon handles.

Wahoos are small shrubs and trees that produce poisonous fruit and soft,
pithy wood. They are found only on Archais. The wood is not particularly
valuable or useful, but is something of a curiosity.

Exotic hardwoods such as satinwood, darkwood, teak, mahogany, ebony,
paduak, blackthorn and bloodwood can be found in jungles all over the
planet. There are other species that occur in certain places. For instance,
yellowheart, blackwood, leadwood, cocobolo, kingwood, purpleheart, wenge,
zebrawood, kingwood and pink ivory are found only in jungles of the
mainland of Atmir, while beefwood and lebbeck are found only in Suboria.

While not as rare as tropical hardwoods, there are other species of tree
only found in limited geographical ranges. On the mainland one can find
dense wood such as ironwood, sourwood and hackberry, bitter ones such as
mesquite, aromatic olive and sweetgum, and figs. Redwood and koa occur only
on Gianasi. Unique Suborian varieties include eucalyptus, kauri, sugi and
ramin. Ginkgo and tupelo trees are found on Ramanek and nowhere else, save
for the gardens in the Keep of the Dragon Emperor.

Most rare are woods from extraplanar realms. Vegetation in the Demon Realms
is not as diverse as on the prime plane. Wood from the few species of trees
that can survive there all have the same handful of traits. Fallen wood
there tends to be rotten, but one can still find whole branches of sinister
varieties such as bloodthorn, molbash and razor pine. Wood from demonic
trees often carries an evil taint with it, even after being worked.

The Planes of Light have many species in common with the prime plane,
though a few rare ones occur only here. Fruiting bodhi, exotic golden
glasir, bitter silverleaf, supremely flexible mallorn and the extremely
hard diamondwood are native to worlds where angels have sway. Similar to
trees from the Demon Realms, these trees are steeped in goodness, which
permeates any item made from their wood.