Scumpia, the "wigwam shrub" used in traditional medicine, with its golden yellow-green striped wood

I encountered the sweetie while looking for information about bat wood. Because its color sometimes resembles the more reddish lilac flowers, some call it a lilac. But it is a different species. Recently, on one of the profile groups, someone was looking for information about this wood without getting anything concrete, so I went back to scumpie to look further. I discovered a very colorful wood, but hard to find, which makes it even more appreciated by passionate carpenters. The pieces available are small and are used for bowls, decorative spoons, pens or knife handles. What else we found out about the sweetie and her wood, discover below.

Scumpia, better known as a traditional medicinal herb and natural colorant

While the wood is little known, the plant's therapeutic capabilities are much better known. Scumpia is used in herbal and traditional medicine as an antifebrile, antiseptic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, cicatrizant and antivomivative. The plant's bark, harvested after greening, and leaves, harvested in May-June, when the plant is in flower, are used. These are rich in tannins, volatile oils and other components with therapeutic action. Leaf tea and bark powder are used to treat gastric, liver and intestinal disorders or anorexia. Poultices heal skin disorders, and tea gargle treats mouth sores and resolves some respiratory disorders.

Scumpia has been used since the Middle Ages to dye wool and silk yarns. The color, obtained from the leaves and twigs, was yellow, yellow-orange or reddish-yellow. Unfortunately, the colors were not hardy, as light faded them over time. Due to its high tannin content, the bark was also used for tanning hides. It is said that the first to use bark bark for tanning were the monks of the Beato Sante Monastery in the Marche region of Italy. Perched on a hilltop, the monastery is surrounded by scumpia bushes, Scotano in Italian. That's why in the past it was called Santa Maria di Scotaneto. The particular process by which the monks tanned the skins with the bark of the scumpia made them very soft and smooth.

Scumpia - wigwood, smokewood, fogwood or Jupiter's beard

Scumpia is part of the Anacardianeaelike Cotinus. In this genus we find two species, Cotinus coggygria or European sweetness and Cotinus obovatus, American sweetheart. In the specialized literature you will find the European sweetie as smoketree (smoke tree - English), albero of fog or scotano (fog tree or shaker -Italian), wig tree (wig tree - French) or peruckenbaum (In French it is also called Jupiter's beard. Name Scumpy is recognized in all languages. The information in the article refers to the European currency, which is also found in our country.

Scumpia is native to central and southern Europe and Asia - India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, China. It has been acclimatized in North America and other countries of the northern hemisphere. In our country it is mainly found on the edges of forests in Banat and Dobrogea, but it is also found in Oltenia, Muntenia and Moldova. The popular names are lilac, rui, ocietar or smoke tree. It is cultivated in parks and private gardens because it has a striking appearance, especially in autumn when the leaves turn bright red. It thrives best in poor, well-drained soils and loves sun and light.

Scumpia is a small shrub or tree. It grows to 1-2 m tall, but can reach up to 5 m under special conditions. The diameter of the trunks is 10-15 cm and even more if only one trunk is left. The bark is ash-brown, fine and smooth at first, then becoming scaly. The leaves are oval and up to 10-13 cm long with straight margins. They are green in summer and turn scarlet red in fall. The flowers are yellow, star-like, in 15-30 cm (6-30 cm) inflorescences that are upright. After flowering, they are covered with small, fluffy threads that curl up and give a wiggly or smoky/lace-like appearance over the plant (hence the names in other languages). The fruit is a small drupe with a single seed. It flowers in May-June and buds in July-August.

Wood of the scums: properties, characteristics

Scumpia belongs to the deciduous genus. In cross section through the trunk the difference between sapwood and heartwood is clearly visible. The sapwood is very light in color, towards white, and the heartwood is golden-yellow to greenish-yellow, with alternating light and dark stripes and inserts of different colors. The stripes follow the annual rings, with the early wood lighter and the later wood darker. The wood has luster, but the medullary rays can only be seen with a magnifying glass. The pores are very small, also visible with a magnifying glass.

The wood density at 12% moisture content is 540 kg/m³ find it sufficiently hard and resistant. It dries well, cracks and warps very little. Dried wood is stable with very little dimensional variation. It can be worked well with hand or machine tools, planed and lightly sanded to a very pleasant sheen. Turns and carves easily. Resistance to moisture and insect attack is low so it is not recommended for outdoor projects.

Contains a yellow dye, so unprotected wood may stain. Finishes easily with oil or varnish. Because of the tannin can change the color of the applied bath. There are no problems when gluing.

Used for small decorative objects or as inlay wood

Pieces of sweetwood are small and hard to find. That's why they're also expensive. If you're lucky, you might find a small trunk left over from pruning a shrub. The wood can be turned into pens or bowls. It turns green and is easy to dry. It can also be carved into spoons or other decorative objects. It is also used for knife handles. Because of its beautiful colors, it is also sometimes used as a inlay.

Scumpia is not a great supplier of wood. It's a shrub that grows on the edge of the forest or one that delights our eyes from May to late fall in gardens and parks. The wood only appears when the little shrubs are grooming themselves and we don't need to cut them down just to make a pen or spoon. There are other sources more suitable for such objects.

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.

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