Cocuswood
Encyclopedia
Cocuswood is one of the classic woods, one of the first exports from the West Indies to Europe. It is sometimes called Jamaican ebony.
Cocuswood is a very dense tropical hardwood
with excellent tone quality. It was used a lot for making flute
s in England
and France
especially during the 19th century. It is still occasionally used for reeded wooden musical instruments such as bagpipes, clarinet
s and oboe
s; a modern cocuswood flute can be heard in a new Avie recording of Bach's flute sonatas (J.S. Bach: Flute Sonatas BWV 1030-1032, 1034 & 1035, Philippa Davies, flute; Maggie Cole, harpsichord; Alison McGillivray, 'cello; UPC: 822252210125)
The best known species to yield cocuswood is Brya ebenus
, horticulturally known as the Jamaican Rain Tree.
Cocuswood is a very dense tropical hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
with excellent tone quality. It was used a lot for making flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
especially during the 19th century. It is still occasionally used for reeded wooden musical instruments such as bagpipes, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s and oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s; a modern cocuswood flute can be heard in a new Avie recording of Bach's flute sonatas (J.S. Bach: Flute Sonatas BWV 1030-1032, 1034 & 1035, Philippa Davies, flute; Maggie Cole, harpsichord; Alison McGillivray, 'cello; UPC: 822252210125)
The best known species to yield cocuswood is Brya ebenus
Brya ebenus
Brya ebenus is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Jamaica.. Horticulturally it is known as the Jamaica Rain Tree. It is one of the species yielding cocuswood....
, horticulturally known as the Jamaican Rain Tree.