Faurea saligna bark

The bark of Faurea saligna, the bosveldboekenhout is dark, grey to almost black, rough and deeply longitudinally fissured. Upper branches droop, reminding of a willow, after which the tree was named. The meaning of saligna is Salix-like. Faurea is, however, a genus within the Proteaceae family.

The wood is durable, pale yellowish to red, valued for cabinet making. The termite resistant wood has been used as fence posts. The tree is moderately fire resistant. A red dye can be obtained from soaking the wood in water. Dry branches make good firewood (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Wikipedia).