Also known as Wild Servicetree, this species occurs primarily in France, but is also found in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.  It’s not a species that occurs in large quantity, but is more random.  In the 1990’s the popularity of Pearwood far exceeded its availability and log prices were very high for quality veneer.  Since then, primarily because of price, the demand has lessened.

Pearwood has a very dense, smooth texture and has always been a favorite in the veneer industry.  Logs can be flat sliced or quartered, yielding elegant cathedrals or very fine, straight grain.  Logs not cooked prior to slicing yield a very pale whitish yellow color.  Only through cooking the logs prior to slicing do you attain the highly sought after, pale pink / amber tones.

Most logs yield some kind of figural quality, sometimes minimalistic and sometimes very dramatic.  It is difficult to find a log devoid of some degree of figure in this species.