Handmade Buckeye burl Solo Hummingbirds has it’s own flower. 8 x 8 x3, $175. No two are alike. Painstakingly handcrafted, detailed to perfection and finished with a glossy lacquer. Base wood used is Manzanita from California. The beak is crafted of African Wenge wood. The flower is an exotic colorful wood. The bird hovers and drinks from the flower via some cleverly wrapped wire.

The Buckeye root burl wood is native to Northern California, and is so densely and intricately figured that it is often mistaken for carved stone. But, it is wood!

Aesculus californica, commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a large deciduous shrub or small tree in the Chestnut family native to California and southwestern Oregon. It has an estimated lifespan between 250-280 years.

The flowers are sweet-scented, white to pale pink. The tree bears a large, round, orange-brown seed in a leathery case containing the seeds, which are poisonous. Local Native American tribes, including the Pomo, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch.

The nectar of the flowers is toxic to the exotic Asian/European honeybee, so the trees should not be planted near apiaries. The flowers are a rich nectar source for many species of native butterflies.

The slabs used for buckeye burl slabs and carvings come from the root ball of the tree. They can be as large as sixteen feet in diameter. The trunks of the trees are used for creating art as well, as bases to support tables, etc. The root ball is removed from the earth and allowed to sit and “weather” for a year or two. This exposure to the heat of summer and the rain and cold of the winter allows leaching of the minerals imbedded in the root ball. The growth of fungi and bacterial action all contribute to the unique coloration found in buckeye.