Wood Fluorescence

Most people would never know that many common woods are reactive to the wavelengths of light emitted by black lights. These colors are usually still visible beneath a finish placed on the wood, however, shellac can emit a bright orange color under black light, which makes viewing difficult. We've limited the following list to include only the domestic species which we carry from time to time, but there are many other exotic species which provide a variety of colors under black light exposure as well.

Black Locust - Bright green
Honey Locust - Bright green
Kentucky Coffeetree - Bright yellowish green
Mimosa - Streaked green patterns
Monkeypod - Light yellow with green streaking
Osage Orange - Streaked yellow patterns
Redbud - Streaked green patterns
Shining Sumac - Light yellow
Smooth Sumac - Light yellow
Staghorn Sumac - Heartwood has mixed patterns of green, sapwood appears as light purple or blue
Sweetbay Magnolia - Light yellow
Yellowwood - Mixture of light yellows and blues