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Jichimu
Jichimu Chicken wing wood Ji Chi mu » - Phoenix tail or chicken wing wood
Jichimu is revered by the Chinese for its beauty. Jichimu, literally translates from the Chinese as 'chickenwing wood’. The botanical name is Milleaa leucantha Kurz. The common name describes a wood whose deep brown and gray paOerns contain all the fine detail of bird feathers. The tree is very slow growing so the annual rings are very close together but it is only when the trunk is ‘slab cut’ that the fine markings are most evident. When quarter cut, only a series of parallel lines corresponding to the annual growth rings are seen.
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A common misconcep9on is that the tree is indigenous to Hainan. Many exo9c Chinese woods are ascribed to Hainan origin but the truth is that a related tree, Hainan ormosia / Ormosa Howii wasn’t discovered there un9l the 1950s and is thought to be already ex9nct. M. leucantha is found in southern China notably Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan. There are other woods with somewhat similar appearance but a good guide to determine whether the piece being offered is genuine could be the price - a bread board made of genuine chicken wing wood costs $200-300, a brush pot $1000.
Milleaa Leucantha Kurz should not be confused with Milleaa lauren9i, commonly known as ‘Wenge’ and a na9ve of Africa. Wenge is cheaper, darker and more readily available than Chinese chicken wing wood. It doesn’t have the feathery delicacy of the Chinese wood
Pheasantwood / Senna siamea comes from SE Asia, notably Thailand, Vietnam and Burma and is so similar in appearance to chicken wing wood that it is also called jichimu in China. But these countries are a liOle further south and warmer so the annual growth rings are liOle more spaced. The highly related Cassia Siamea is a na9ve of Indonesia and even Hawaii. It also resembles pheasant tail feathers but, to this author’s personal view, not with the same subtlety or delicacy ot the genuine Chinese chicken wing wood.
To add to the confusion, Milleaa stuhlmannii, commonly known as panga panga, has a vary similar appearance to all of the above. A true botanical specialist might be able to dis9nguish between these species by observing the cross sec9onal endgrain through a lens, but this author cannot. Milleaa stuhlmannii is a na9ve of Africa so, by logical deduc9on, if a dense tropical hardwood with pronounced stria9ons appears in a piece with obviously Chinese provenance, it is most likely to be jichimu.
In summary, Chicken wing wood, pheasantwood, wenge and panga panga are very similar in appearance. Milleaa Leucantha Kurz should be recognized as the true jichimu and is listed in the database of ‘Flora of China’ as being na9ve to southern Ynnan province but it should be men9oned that it grows also in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand.
