Yellowberry bush is a close cousin to the better known, 'Orange boxwood' (m.disperma) and is very hard to spot in the scrub. It's not common around here
but when you do find it, it's foliage is generally sparse and amongst the
Cocaine bush it is easily missed - but it is unmistakeable in Autumn when
the berries are on it. Yellowberry Bush only grows to about 5 metres high
with a 100 to 150mm trunk and flowers around February.
The timber has a fine
medullary ray and an orange tinge to it which is most attractive.
Unfortunately the grubs also find it attractive making it hard to find solid
samples, in fact the only tree I have managed to get was
dying through grub attack (evident in the lidded box below).
The timber is an absolute pleasure to machine giving an excellent finish
straight off the chisel. It sands really well too and gives a good finish
after readily soaking up the first coat or two.
The worst of the grubholes are on the far side of this piece, after all, you
only want to see the wood right?!?! It is finished with Wipe-On Poly and the
finial and filling dust is Australian Ebony.
