Trade name: Brown oak
Country of origin: Europe, mostly in England, often also in France
Occurrence: Oak is one of the most common tree species in European forests, usually occurring as a pedunculate or sessile oak. Best known places of origin for high quality veneer oaks are Spessart and Pfalz in Germany, Troncais in France. From the mid-1990s, increasing imports from Eastern Europe, where there are significant stands of oak forests. Oaks are not present within Europe in central and northern Scandinavia.
Uses: Exclusively in interior finishes, primarily in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Character: Its characteristic dark red-brown color is completely natural and has not been artificially produced.
Special features: Brown oak is not a separate species of wood. It is rather oak wood, which discolors in the core due to incipient red rot, although the strength properties do not change. If the fungus penetrates the whole core, the wood shows many dark brown shades. On the longitudinal surfaces – due to sharply demarcated annual rings – distinctive fringes or stripes appear, with conspicuous mirrors resulting in radially exquisite decorations.