Bog-wood
Bog-wood is wood from trees that have been buried in peat bogs and preserved from decay by the acidic and anaerobic bog conditions, sometimes for hundreds or even thousands of years. The wood is usually stained brown by tannins dissolved in the acidic water. Bog-wood represents the early stages in the fossilisation of wood, with further stages ultimately forming lignite and coal over a period of many millions of years. Bog-wood may comes from any tree species naturally growing near or in bogs, including oak (Quercus – bog oak), pine (Pinus), yew (Taxus), swamp cypress (Taxodium) and kauri (Agathis).
Uses
Because bog-wood can remain undecayed for thousands of years it is of use in dendrochronology, often providing records much older than living trees. Wooden artifacts lost or buried in bogs become preserved as bog-wood, and are important in archaeology.
Bog-wood may be used in joinery to make furniture or wood carving. Bog-wood sometimes has aesthetically interesting shapes (similar to driftwood) and as such may be use as ornaments. As bog-wood dries out, it may crack or split, but this does not necessarily detract from the aesthetic qualities of a bog-wood sculpture.
Bog-wood is used in aquaria for ornaments, providing hiding places for fish and a growing surface for plants such as Java fern. Additionally, the leaching of organic compounds such as tannins into the water causes a brown colouration and increased acidity, although this is not sufficient to soften hard water.
See also
- Driftwood
- Mopani wood, recovered from deserts and often sold as an alternative to bogwood for aquaria; it is sometimes incorrectly labelled as bogwood or charred bogwood.
- Sweet track
- Aquarium substrates
External links
- Image of 5000 year old bogwood recovered from an Irish bog as well as bog images
- Irish Peatland Conservation Council - Information sheet on bogwood and its formation in Irish peat bogs.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Bogwood". Image Credit.
