48 x 1.75 x 48 inches

Sold to Nicola Valley Institute of Technology Vancouver, BC

100 distinct wood species

There are nearly 10,000 species of birds. 100 have been lost to extinction since 1600 AD. Most if not all of these are widely considered anthropogenic (human caused) extinctions. That means that 1out of every 100 species is gone forever. Experts believe that extinction rates are now 100-1000 times greater than historical rates (average extinction rates throughout biological history). In “Forever” there are 100 pieces all of distinct species…one is missing…In his book, “The Future of Life”, preeminent American biologist and ecologist E.O. Wilson, states, “If the current rate of human disruption of the biosphere continues,-one half of Earth’s higher life forms will be extinct by 2100.”Each puzzle piece was cut from 8/4 material (2 inch). In creating this piece, I collected over 100 distinct species of wood. The completed puzzle has 100 pieces (minus 1). A small number were purchased from hardwood retailers (in these limited cases care was taken to insure sources were from sustainable harvest (FSC or plantation grown). The bulk of these specimens were gathered in small numbers from individual collections of wood workers, shipwrights, arborists, millers, and urban loggers. A couple of the species are on the CITES Red list of endangered species (e.g. American Mahogany)…these were sourced from my Grandfather’s collection from the 1950’s.

• Western Sycamore (Platanus racemosa)
  Eastern Cherry FSC (Prunus serotina)
  Basswood (Tilia americana)
  Beech (Fagus sp.)
  White Oak (Quercus alba)
  Hickory FSC (Carya sp.)
  Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum)
  Plantation Poplar (Populus sp.)
  Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga Mensiesii var. mensiesii)
  Honduran Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)
  Ponderosa Pine (missing Piece) (Pinus ponderosa)European Steamed Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
  Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
  Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)
  Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
  Carpathian Walnut (Juglans regia)
  Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)
  Ash FSC (Fraxinus sp.)
  Fleshy Hawthorn (Crataegus succulent)
  Catalpa (Catalpa sp.)
  English Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
  Pacific Willow (Salix lucida)
  Purple Heart (Peltogyne spp.)
  Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
  Plum (Prunus sp.)
  Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
  Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
  Myrtle (Myrtus sp.)
  Teak (Tectona grandis)
  American Chestnut (Castanea dentate)
  Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)
  Satine (Brosimum rubescens)
  Mulberry (Morus sp.)
  American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
  Yew (Taxua brevifolia)
  Eastern Cherry FSC (Prunus serotina)
  White Alder (Alnus rhombifolia)
  Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
  Alaska Cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis)
  Anigre (Aningeria sp.)
  Butternut (Juglans cinerea) Port Orford Cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
  Santos Mahogany? (Myroxylon sp.)
  Madrona (Arbutus menziesii)
  Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana)
  Khaya Mahogany (Khaya sp.)
  Soft leaf Willow (Salix sessifolia)
  Monkey Pod (Samanea saman)
  Brazilian Cherry (Hymenaea courbaril)
  Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
  Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana)
  Fruiting Cherry (Prunus sp.)
  Red Mahogany? (Eucalyptus resinifera)
  Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
  Nootka Cypress (Cupressus sp.)
  Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
  Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina)
  Dogwood (Cornus sp.)
  Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)
  Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
  Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
  Ohia (Metrosideros polymorpha)
  Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
  English Walnut (Juglans regia)
  Birch FSC (Betula sp.)
  Jeffery Pine? (Pinus jeffreyi)
  Southern Yellow Pine FSC (Pinus sp.)
  Rock Elm (Ulmus thomasii)
  Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)
  Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
  Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
  Golden Raintree (Koelreuteria paniculata)
  Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
  Ironbark (Eucalyptus sp.)
  Linden (Tilia sp.)
  Indonesian Mahogany (Toona ciliata)
  Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
  Shorea (Shorea robusta)
  Unknown local Drift Log (not purple heart)
  Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra)
  Mango (Mangivera sp.)
  Grand Fir (Abies grandis)
  Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
  Apple (James Mathews Homestead, Guemes, Island 1876) (Malus domestica)
  Blue Spruce (Picea pungens)
  Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
  Angico (Piptadenia macrocarpa)
  Unknown nut (Pecan?) (Carya illinoinensis)
  Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
  Ipe (Tabebuia ipe)
  Wenge (Millettia laurentii)
  Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera)
  Philippine Mahogany (Toona calantis)
  Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
  Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
  Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
  Blood wood (Brosimum rubescens)
  Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
  Pear (Pyrus sp.)
  Balau (Shorea plagata)

Disclaimer: All botanical names are derived from the common names given by those individuals from whom the wood samples were gathered. Every effort has been made to maintain accuracy within the scope of this project. No laboratory tests were made to guarantee identification.