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PHEASANTWOOD, HAWAIIAN

Cassia siamea
(syn. Senna siamea)
Cassia siamea of the family Fabaceae (syn. Leguminosae) the legume, pea, or bean family. Native to Hawaii and also grows in Indonesia, this wood is very similar in appearance to panga panga. There is, or at the very least has been in the past, confusion or disagreement even amoung botanists about the species Senna siamea and Cassia siamea. As nearly as I can tell, the wood that goes by the common name of (among many others) Hawaiian pheasantwood is most correctly designated as Cassia siamea, although it can also be found with the designation Senna siamea which is now considered just a synonym for Cassia siamea. OR ... it is exactly the opposite of that, depending on what authority you consult. I use "The Plant List".

my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K) colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a plank of Hawaiian pheasantwood / Cassia siamea --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. For more details about this plank, see the sample directly below


three face grain closeups from different areas of the plank directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Hawaiian pheasantwood / Cassia siamea --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. This sample is from the planks directly above.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE


This pic was contributed to the site by Eldon Eadie, whom I thank. Eldon also sent ALL of the sample pieces below, for which I thank him profusely! These have given me an excellent set of pics for this wood.


both sides of a sample plank


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- I did NOT sand the end and probably should so as to get a better shot but there is a terrific end grain shot down below. LATER NOTE: I have now done an upgrade, so immediately below is an excellent end grain closeup


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- the orange color in the sapwood only showed up AFTER I did the fine sanding so I assume it's from the heat or is a carry-over of darker dust from the blackish part. Anyway, the plank just behind the exposed surface is still the tan color show in the original pics above.


turning stick edge cut-off listed as pheasant wood / Senna siamea


turning stick edge cut-off


end grain thin slice --- both enlargements are present so you can really see it up close


both side of a small sample


face grain closeup of the piece directly above


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end of Eldon Eadie samples

---

both sides of a sample plank of ironwood tree / Cassia siamea --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The name ironwood is used by over 180 species from around the world, so I consider that to be a useless designation.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above. If you look closely at the updates, you can see that before the fine sanding of this update, the random black dots that show up here were gray dots. I have no idea what they are. Perhaps resin bleed.


both sides of a sample plank of Hawaiian pheasantwood / Cassia siamea --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of moung den (=Hawaiian pheasantwood) / Cassia siamea --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

web pics:

I am doubtful about the extreme golden color on some of these but cannot say for sure that they are wrong.

planks


plank and closeup from a vendors whose colors are often exaggerated in their pics so likely not quite this colorful


misc pieces


planks all from the same vendor and listed as pheasant wood / Senna siamea


planks listed as Hawaiian pheasantwood / Senna siamea, all from the same vendor


book-matched pieces for a pallet and then the end grain from one piece. The color of the first pic is much too red (owner says it's darker and more brown/black) but the end grain color is quite believable.


scales --- these were not listed as burl or crotch but they seem to be one or the other


pen blanks


bowls


pots


guitar bodies; the one on the right was listed as kolohala


gun grips

earrings listed as Hawaiian pheasantwood by Dean Robertson, whom I thank for this and other image contributions to the site. Both enlargements are present thanks to Dean's excellent photography


seam ripper