One of the most distinctive European wood species is hairwood. Its fine grain, great color, density and stability have made hairwood highly prized by craftsmen. Because of its color, it is used for inlays and its ease of processing makes it suitable for carving and turning. Being very stable, pearwood has been used for measuring instruments such as rulers and echels. It also stains very well, which is why in the past it was used to replace ebony. In the 19th century, during the Second French Empire, black ebony furniture was the fashion. As not all the nobility could afford the very expensive furniture made from the rare wood brought from the colonies, ebony was replaced with black stained pearwood. The process was called ebonised pear, ihe furniture thus obtained was considered to be of great value. All this and much more led us to dedicate the following article to hairwood.
A symbol of fertility, wisdom, love, divine support
There are over 30 species of hair. The subject of the article is Pyrus Communis also known as common hair, European hair or Swiss hair. It is the most widely used wood. In English it is pear, in French headstand, in German birne (birnenbaum), in Italian but, in Spanish peral.
The hawthorn is native to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia, but is cultivated in all temperate regions of Europe, North America and Australia. It is the most important temperate fruit tree. Evidence of its existence goes back thousands of years and it is mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey. Depending on the culture, it is associated with fertility, wisdom, love, prosperity, longevity, divine support.
Because of the shape of the fruit, the hair is often associated with motherhood. The pear was the sacred fruit of the Roman goddess Hera, patroness of women, marriage and childbirth, and in ancient Greece it was associated with Aphrodite, goddess of love. Pears are ancient symbols of love, fidelity, but also of separation. In China, it is considered bad luck for a couple to eat a pear together by cutting it in half. In some European countries, the birth of a daughter is celebrated by planting a pear.
In art, the pear shape has been symbolic of the female form for centuries, alluding to sensuality, sexuality, femininity, fertility and fruitfulness. Fruits and pear blossoms have often been subjects for artists in various periods, from delicate Japanese paintings to famous painters such as Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keeffe.
A cold-hardy, water and light-loving fruit tree
The hawthorn is a fruit tree in the Rosaceae family that grows in regions with a humid temperate climate. It is cold hardy but needs light and dislikes hot, dry summers. Without water it has few fruits that remain small and do not develop. It can withstand temperatures as low as -18°C and in winter, when dormant, it can withstand temperatures as low as -40°C. It flowers in early spring, when temperatures can still be low (7°C). Lack of light affects the fruit and the ripening of the wood. It lives around 80-100 years, but West Asian varieties are longer-lived.
The wild hair, growing on the forest edge, can reach 7-10 m in height, with a trunk diameter of 0.2-0.4 m. Grafted hairs can reach 15-20 m. The upright trunk is covered with bark whose rhizomes deepen with age. The leaves are oval-roundish, green, large, 7-8 cm long, the upper part glossy, with a toothed or straight edge. Blooms in April and the white flowers are clustered 4-10 in an umbrella-like inflorescence.
The fruit is edible, spherical-elongated or conical-truncated, weighing between 150 and 300 g. The skin is shiny or covered with rust, green, orange-yellow or red in color. The flesh is juicy, ranging in color from yellowish-white to reddish. The taste is sweet with more or less intense flavor. In the center are small, brownish seeds trapped in a harder, lignified cell zone.

photo source: wood-database.com
Hairwood - characteristics and properties
Pearwood is the most beautiful wood from fruit trees, with a fine, delicate and uniform texture.
In cross-section through the trunk the annual rings are visible but not very clearly defined. The difference between sapwood and heartwood is hardly visible. The color of the heartwood ranges from pale pink or salmon to light reddish brown, and the sapwood is only slightly lighter. If steamed, the pinkish color becomes stronger, deeper. Wood from older plants develops brownish-purple coloration in the heartwood that increases its value.
The fiber is straight, with very fine uniform texture. The pores are diffuse, small, numerous, without any particular arrangement. very numerous and small, diffusely arranged, without any particular arrangement. Occasionally, the pores in the duramen have reddish-brown colored mineral gums or deposits. The medullary rays are narrow to medium and not visible to the naked eye. No characteristic odor.
Pearwood has an anhydrous density of 690 kg/m³ and a Janka hardness of 7380 N. It is considered a medium shrinkage wood and can warp on drying. After drying it is stable. It is not resistant to decay and is rather difficult to impregnate. It is easy to work, both manually and mechanically. Turns and carves easily. No problems with gluing, staining and finishing. Black colored is a fairly good substitute for ebony.

photo source: wood-database.com

photo source: luryfurniture.com
Uses of pearwood
Pearwood is used both as solid wood and as veneer, but it is not a material with intensive industrial use. It is prized as inlaid wood or for making fine objects such as pens, pipes and jewelry boxes. Craftsmen use it to make bowls, more special pieces of furniture and to carve decorative spoons. It is used to make wind musical instruments or guitars.
As a hard and dense wood, it can be used for flooring.
It is odorless and tasteless, which is why it is used to make kitchen items - mincers, bowls, spoons.
It has a very pleasant aroma when burned and is used for smoking meats.
Its smooth and even texture makes it a very good wood for carving. It is said that in ancient Greece, statues of the goddess Hera were carved in hairwood.

photo source: brownrigg-interiors.co.uk

photo source: woodsymphony.com

photo source: artizanmade.com

photo source: flickr.com
I hope you find the above information useful. As always, additions are welcome. And if you have any questions or queries, please leave them below in the space provided. I will be sure to reply.
Good evening,
Can you advise me what colour flooring I can choose for the living room, as the library is a steamed wood colour.
Thank you.
Good evening!
It is difficult to give such advice because it depends very much on each person's taste.
The steamed wood (I assume you mean beech) has a slightly reddish colour. You should use a color that has this color in the composition and avoid colors that have green in the composition. That is, use colours such as cherry, red walnut, chestnut and avoid oak or rustic oak. But it all depends on what you like or don't like.
All the best!