Is this mold?

[Essentia]

I ordered wood from a well known member of CnQ. It has been made known to me that in the past some people had a problem with receiving moldy wood from this seller. That got me searching through all the wood I recieved and I have a couple pieces of dogwood that look like this. Sorry about the huge picture, but I am trying to go as close as possible so you can see what I see.

It's a lightish green/gray color. It isn't fuzzy, but if I scratch it it does seem to come off. Also, the twig itself looks weird compared to the other pieces of dogwood. I need your expertise!

 

[alli713]

Could it be lichen?

Many people won't use wood with lichen because some lichens are toxic and it's hard to tell which ones. Lichen has a firm feeling to it and isn't fuzzy. However I do know of one seller who has stated that they don't have a problem with lichen.

 

[Essentia]

Isn't the point of scrubbing/boiling/baking to get rid of lichen and other such growy things? Does that mean this was not scrubbed/boiled/baked like it was claimed? :confused2:

 

[Carol~Anne]

I see no pic.

Okay, I see it now but I don't know much about wood. I don't think it's lichen or has lichen or whatever you call it b/c it's not green.

 

[alli713]

I see the pic fine, so is that a twig, like the size of a pencil, or a thicker twig/branch?

I mean, most of the lichen that I've seen, it looks more like a crust on the wood, not like it's stuck to the wood. And mold is normally fuzzy looking.

I can't say about the preparation of it, but if it's scrubbed, most of the lichen should come off. However, in my standards, I wouldn't even use wood that has had lichen on it even if I can scrub it off.

ETA: lichen can be many colors, from a grey to a green so going by color probably won't help

 

[Carol~Anne]

lichen can be many colors, from a grey to a green so going by color probably won't help

That's good to know. Mold comes in a lot of colours too, so I know even less now. If the wood looks different from the other pieces you have, then don't use it but I'm sure someone knows what it is.

 

[Essentia]

It's thicker then a pencil, probably about the size of a light flow tampon (I am so sorry for that...it was the only thing I could think of that was around that size).

 

[Riven]

Probably lichen, I'd just toss it out if it's the only one. Kind of hard to tell from the pic.

That piece of wood itself looks like it came from a sick tree, the splotchy colors are not indication of healthy bark. Might have been a dead branch on an otherwise healthy tree, etc.

On my site I have a page that shows things to watch for in wood, like sap, wood borer holes, and lichens. It's just kind of nice to know what to look for. I'm working on some more additions to that area as soon as I get one of my other sites updated.

 

[Essentia]

That's good to know. Mold comes in a lot of colours too, so I know even less now. If the wood looks different from the other pieces you have, then don't use it but I'm sure someone knows what it is.

What I am worried about is if I need to throw ALL the wood away. Also, I have given several to my chins (that looked ok, but still) and I'm worried about that.

 

[alli713]

haha, yeah mold comes in different colors too, so that doesn't help.

I honestly can't tell what it is, as it's hard to see. But the stick itself looks like an odd color, but I've never seen dogwood before so maybe they normally look like that?

In my experience, mold is soft and if scratched off, it comes off more like a dust. I had some wood mold on me before I could prep it so ended up throwing it away. Where as the lichen I've seen on some of the cottonwood I've seen while gathering wood has been more of a crust, and is hard.

ETA: if it were lichen, I would say just throw those pieces away, but if it were mold, I'd be more apt to want to throw all of it away or re-prep it as mold has spores which could have spread to the other pieces

 

[Riven]

Dog wood is a red type of wood similar to apple.

Wood tends to mold on the ends first because that's where the moisture is, if the ends look clean and good it's most likely lichen.

 

[alli713]

That is true Nicole, I didn't even think of that. The mold that was on my wood was on the ends as that is where the moisture comes out.

And yeah, if it normally looks like apple, then that stick doesn't look normal either way.

 

[Riven]

I've never seen dogwood baked... but in life it's darker like apple with the red tint, more red than most apple actually, so I'd imagine it would bake similarly colored. I could be totally wrong. But the mottled look is not common of the dog wood.

I'd just toss it, if you're concerned your can re-process or bake your wood, or toss it in the microwave to kill anything that might be hanging out on there!

 

[Carol~Anne]

Where is Dogwood grown in the US? It's BC's provincial tree and there's very strict laws what you can do to it.

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=2ac&sa=N

 

[Riven]

Dogwood's are found all over, there are many different kinds actually, some on evergreen types, but most are deciduous.

Two of the most popular kinds in the midwest are the flowering and the red dog wood trees, they are used as ornamental specimens here mostly.

 

[seachin]

From my gardening experience, my first thought is that it could be lichen or bark. I notice that lichen can be scraped off easily with a fingernail and becomes a clumpy powder, whereas if it were bark it sort of bunches up as you scrape it off with your fingernail (or if dry, clings tightly). Generally, I see mold coming off from even rubbing it with your finger into a fine powder. It does depend on the size, but I think its either the bark (some trees have bark that grows in different colored blotches) or potentially lichen (I can't really see depth well in the photo). Mold also has a pretty distinct sharp odor...lichen smells a bit more earthy. I think you should be fine scrubbing it off if its lichen.:thinking:

 

[Cola89]

lol grr now you have me curious of the seller!!! i honestly dont think its mold but it very well could be something else

 

[KeepYourChinUp]

I haven't had any experience with dogwood either. If we could see it in person we may be able to tell you better what it is. It also could be weathered but who knows.....sorry we aren't alot of help!

 

[Parkerspetchins]

The stuff you scratched off looks like lichen to me which I have had on my apple wood before so am familiar with it. The whole stick in general looks sketchy to me though but I also have never purchased dogwood so I don't know what it is supposed to look like.

 

[Kalandra]

I'm no expert on what chins can have, and I have no idea what dogwood is safe for chins or not safe, but I can tell you dogwood comes in other colors depending on what variety we are talking about. Flowering is a beautiful bright red, whereas Kousa dogwood is a tan to dark brown. You can see some bark closeups at http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/c/corkou/corkou1.html