Here, deep in the heart of Texas, I live in a subdivision called “Saddlewood.” As cavewoman is a graphic artist by trade, we have headed up the newsletter commitee. For the next issue, I’m putting together a bit on the nomenclature of our area. I’ve just about got the weird street names figured out (mostly east-asian names like Marshitah, Garbacz, and Curameng). The name “Saddlewood” is giving me fits, though. Online, all I get are other streetnames and other subdivisions, save http://www.artantiques.net/retail/quikstore.cgi?category=Front_Back_Bars
which I found on Yahoo!. Supposedly one of these pieces of furniture has a saddlewood inlay. I’ve checked forestry, lumber, and woodworking sites, but cannot find any other trace of this mystery wood. Is it actually a tree, a type of wood, or the result some arcane process? I’d love to see a wood sample or an image of an actual specimen, if possible.
I don’t know much about wood but are you sure you aren’t thinking about sandalwood?
I just did a search for saddlewood on a site called “Woods of the World”.
No results.
It is possible that the name derives from a local tradition of naming some wood(naming it saddlewood that is),used for the manufacture of saddles.(perhaps the same way a dressmakers dummy is used)
I think it’s unlikely that this is true.
Although I’m sure You haven’t misconstrued or mispelled the word,it is likely that the person originaly naming the street did.
Perhaps they meant sandalwood.
santalum album
Quote from site:
Common Names
Sandalwood
Regions of Origin
Oceania and S.E. Asia
Countries of Origin
India
Australia
Malaysia
Indonesia
China
Philippines
Tree Data
The tree is reported to be parasitic, and is often found attached to the roots of other trees, although it is capable of producing its own food through photosynthesis. It is reported to grow to heights of 35 to 40 feet (11 to 12 m), with trunk diameters of up to 14 inches (4.3 cm). Maximum height is reported to be rarely attained before harvesting since the tree is highly valued for its oil and wood.
I can provide more information if you like.
Forbin
I considered that too, but the name “Saddlewood” seems to have wide use, even if the wood itsself doesn’t.
Here’s a site that ought to deepen the mystery a bit:
http://goldcoast.ubf.org/biblestudy/Luke/Lk2301.htm
Do a search on the text for “saddlewood.”
I thought “saddlewood” was what cowboys got after three lonely weeks on the trail, when even the cows were looking good . . . oh, never mind.
Oooh, creepy cher3! Traditionally, though, wasn’t the cross supposedly made of dogwood? Nonetheless, that makes 2 on-line references to it as an actual wood…
I also found several references to saddlewood interiors in cars, but not pictures or further explanation.
Of course you can tell if it’s dogwood by it’s bark.
caveman, you are really blowing this big time. THis is not a problem but an opportunity!
Since no one else knows what it is, you can MAKE IT UP! no one is going to do the research that you did and prove you wrong. Just make up an explanation, send it to a friend, have it sent back, and voila! urban legend. then if you get called on it, blush and show them the e-mail.
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it is really the wood used to make a saddle which consists of x,y and z woods.
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IT was a strong willowy wood used in the orient to weave saddles for the caravans and would last up to 500 years in that dry climate.
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It was the wood used by teh romans (insert some latin name) that was used to crucify people. THe name saddlewood is purported to come from the roman saying that the crucifix was the steed to hell. Hense the wood of the crucifix created the “saddle”
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or, it was named for william saddle, the famed botanist who named every tree in South Yemen. Then insert some improbable description of the tree.
Just to make it even more maddening, a look at some of the car sites suggests that saddlewood, at least in reference to cars, is a color, not an actual wood.
Just to further confuse the issue, this site refers to “The aroma candle … with …saddle wood smell. The Asian ethnic goods atmosphere plus the delighted smell…” Sounds suspiciously like the term saddle wood is actually being used to refer to sandalwood.
BTW there are several species of Santalum used for extraction of sandalwood oil and commonly reffered to as sandalwood. There’s absolutely no doubt that these species are hemi-parasitic and there’s also no doubt that they are capable of reaching 12m or more.
Your Saddlewood subdivision could be named after a progenitor of Tack Saddlewood who presently resides in Jonesboro,Arkansas.
this tidbit courtesy of yahoo peoplefinder
And that Grienspace is a brilliant peice of lateral thinking. I hadn’t even considered it could be named after someone.
Caveman it looks like a search of notable residemts, politicians etc. from the era prior to your subdivision being built might be in order.
This site uses the phrase ‘saddlewood motifs’. If you look at the inset (second picture from the bottom) you can see the shape of the inlaid wood on the table top looks somewhat like a saddle. I wonder if it’s not a style, rather than a type of wood?
As a lifetime member of the International Wood Collector’s Society (don’t ask, my husband signed us both up) I oughtta be able to field this sucker. But I can’t. I’ve checked both versions of “The Encyclopedia of Wood,” searched the exhaustive “Manual of the Trees of North America” and had my husband check “Useful Woods of the World.” No entries for Saddle Wood or Saddlewood. My husband has about 200 wood samples of his own, but none called “Saddlewood.” The website for this club has a search function but it appears to be on the fritz, alas. There is a guy you can ask these sorts of questions of, but I can’t say how long a response might take.
My husband tells me there are over 100,000 wood species in the world, so this might just not be in our books. But somehow I doubt your developer is a dendrologist with knowledge of obscure wood species. So my guess is either (a) it’s a made up name chosen because it sounds cool or (b) there is some common wood that found its way into the use of saddles, and this got called “Saddle Wood” at times.
And chique might be onto something, as well. Maybe Saddle Wood is like “dovetail” (a woodworking term, instead of a tree/wood term). However, there is no way I’m hitting my husband’s woodworking library tonight, which is huge. It didn’t ring any bells for him, I might add.
Frankly, I think the story of how hard it was to find what “Saddle Wood” is would make a pretty interesting little article.
Thankyou Gaspode, I’m truly flattered.
- Saddlewood comes from saddletrees
But seriously, it seems that everything else points to sandalwood–the east-asian theme of the rest of the streets, for instance.
A classic forward among urban planners. For the record, I live in a subdivision called “Harbor Highlands,” even though I’m about 90 km from the ocean.
Play Subdivision Mix or Match!
Category 1
Ye Olde and New English Names
Briarcliff, Canterbury, Chatham, Chelsea, Concord, Exxex, Georgetown, Hampton,Kingswood, Lexington, Nantucket, Newport, Provincetown, Somerset, Stonehenge, Stratford, Strathmore, Walden, Whytehall, Yorkshire.
Sylvan Settings
Arbor, Birchwood, Briarwood, Driftwood, Forest, Greenwood, Heatherwood, Oakbrook, Orchard, Orchard, Poplar, Rollingwood, Trailwood, Westwood, Whisperwoods, Woodlands.
Los Nombres of the Old West
Casa, Chaparral, Corona, Coronado, Gardena, Hacienda, Hermosa, Mesa, Mission, Pueblo, Rancho, Rialto, Santa, Sierra, Villa, Yorba.
Nature’s Nomenclature
Babbling, Cardinal, Country, Deerfield, Harbor, Highlands, Hunters, Mountain, Owl, Pacific, Pheasanton, Quail, Summit, Sunset, Sunshine.
Category 2
Spatial Appellations
Circle, Cluster, Corners, Court, Crossing, Square, Terrace, Triangle, Walk.
Topographic Titles
Bay, Bluff, Brook, Cove, Creek, Downs, Hills, Hollow, Lakes, Meadows, Pond, Ridge, Shores, Springs, Trail, Valley.
Arboreal Eponyms
Forest, Gardens, Glen, Greens, Grove, Knolls, Meadows, Oaks, Pines, Woods.
Category 3
Ambient Directions
Bayside, East, lakeside, North, Northside, Riversedge, Riverside, Seaside, South, Waterfront, West.
Yeoman’s Cogonomens
Commons, Courte, Estates, Farms, Hamlet, Heights, Homes, Landings, Manor, Parc, Plantation, Ranch, Towne, Village.
Pick a word from category 1, then add one from categories 2 or 3 and see you get. Briarcliff Crossing Plantation? Arbor Knoll Commons? Hacienda Shores? GO FOR IT!
Author unknown
How about this theory: Maybe saddlewood is the wood found in the saddles of a tree? Like the top edge of the Y’s formed by the splitting branches? I can imagine that would have a unique wood-working name. And if it doesn’t it should.