# What is 'safflower pear' wood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348 "2022-12-30T17:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/1 "2022-12-30T17:51:23Z")
I saw a video of YouTuber “[Grandpa Amu](https://theawesomer.com/making-a-mortise-and-tenon-fire-truck/692602/)” making a model fire truck from a pinkish-red wood that was called ‘safflower pear’ in the video description. All of the Internet references I can find to ‘safflower pear’ seem to be Asian in origin, which led me to believe that it was the name of an Asian hardwood of some kind. But the same Asian sources also describe ‘safflower pear’ as being African in origin. I found a few references, [like this](https://zjglcmy2019.en.made-in-china.com/product/ZsMmStTPEyWH/China-African-Sandalwood-Safflower-Pear-of-Advanced-Furniture-Advanced-Joinery-Planing-Thin-Wood-Plywood-Floor-Wharf-Tool-Handle-Sculpture-etc.html) to African rosewood or African mahogany, but these don’t seem to have the same characteristics. The big ol’ block that Grandpa Amu uses sure seems to be remarkably uniform in color throughout. It looks like it started out orangish-red but oxidized to a deeper red after being cut. It appears that the big block was a glue-up of some other planks and blocks, and the way he handled it suggested that it was pretty dense. There’s a Red Sandalwood that grows in India and is frequently smuggled because of its extreme value, and an African red sandalwood aka ‘camwood’ that seems to be a shrub and might not produce planks big enough to make the slab seen in the video. So, anyway, I’m curious as to what the ultimate plant source for the wood in the video might have been. It’s quite possible that there is not a single species that produces ‘safflower pear’ wood, like there’s no specific species that produces ‘rosewood’ - it could be a generic term for a deep red hardwood from a variety of different trees. Still, any ideas as to an orangish-red dense hardwood that comes in relatively big blocks of uniform color that oxidizes to a deeper red and is called ‘safflower pear’ in Asia and is used for carving? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/2 "2022-12-30T20:02:24Z")
I think it might be this > **[Dacryodes edulis | Timber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacryodes_edulis#Timber)** > > The wood of D. edulis is elastic, greyish-white to pinkish. The wood has general use for tool handles, and occasionally for mortars, and is suitable for carpentry. ‘safou’ pear ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/3 "2022-12-30T20:34:30Z")
More likely to be _moabi_, “African pearwood”, _Baillonella toxisperma_, I think. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/4 "2022-12-30T20:59:37Z")
It reminds me of the Luggage in several Terry Pratchett novels. It was a little trunk made of “sentient pearwood,” and it transported itself on dozens of little feet. It belonged to Twoflower, who gave it to Rincewind the “Wizzard.” ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/5 "2022-12-31T05:03:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > More likely to be _moabi_, “African pearwood”, _Baillonella toxisperma_, I think. But Grandpa Amu is a chinese (looking) man in an Asian tropical jungle. They did bring dacryodes edulis to Malaysia to grow for the fruit,smallscale And so maybe he has that. But he will say it is Edulis because there are laws to protect natural forest in Malaysia , with local dacryodes specifically protected. I looked through his videos, and he started with a small piece of mahogany, and that is quite expensive timber to buy… so he would have wanted to find a cheap timber that is good looking and oily , long lasting selfpreserving , splinter free, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/6 "2022-12-31T06:45:19Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > But Grandpa Amu is a chinese (looking) man in an Asian tropical jungle. Timber trade is pretty international. From what I can tell, he’s not milling his own timber, but uses commercial prepared wood. And African hardwoods are very popular on the Asian market. > [@Isilder](#): > > that is quite expensive timber to buy I think you possibly underestimate the purchasing power of popular Youtube stars. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/7 "2022-12-31T08:18:57Z")
well anyway, its available locally. Malaysia exports a lot of timber, why would they be importing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-safflower-pear-wood/977348/8 "2022-12-31T08:26:18Z")
Someone might want particular properties in their wood - colour, grain, workability - scent, even. Not all wooods are created equal. I mean, South Africa exports wood, but if I want to turn some walnut or maple, that’s going to be imported wood. “Timber” is not some sort of monolithic product.