pigeon-wood
(ˈpɪdʒənwʊd)
A name given to the wood of various tropical or sub-tropical trees or shrubs, mostly used in cabinet-work, so called from the marking or colouring; also, the trees themselves. Among these are
a. Connarus guianensis, the zebra-wood of S. America and the W. Indies; b. Diospyros tetrasperma, a W. Indian ebony shrub; c. Dipholis salicifolia, a large fragrant W. Indian tree, of the star-apple kind; d. Guettarda speciosa, a small evergreen, growing in the tropics of both hemispheres; e. Pisonia obtusata, the beefwood, corkwood, or porkwood of the W. Indies and Florida; f. species of Coccoloba (pigeon-plum): long-leaved p., C. diversifolia; small-leaved p., C. punctata, C. leoganensis.
| 1745 H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 13 July, My lady Hervey..is charmed with the hopes of these new shoes, and has already bespoke herself a pair of pigeon wood. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica 368 Pigeon Wood. This shrubby tree is greatly esteemed on account of its wood. 1866 Treas. Bot. 887 Pigeon-wood, Zebra-wood, of which there are several kinds. Jamaica P., Guettarda speciosa. |