~Soul Concept~
Manzanita Tree
The manzanita tree is a shrub like tree native to the chaparral biome, the most endangered biome in the world. Because of this, it only grows in the dry regions of California and extending down and over into Mexico, but where it does grow it grows abundantly warm dry climates, and at high elevations, thus making its home in the mountains.
Manzanita trees grow in a variety of sizes, ranging from more bush like heights to the size of small trees. Their trees and branches are twisting and topped by light green leaves. During the spring manzanita trees sprout clumps of pink or white bell shaped flowers and red berries. The berries are edible and serve for food for some animals such as deers. The berries are also edible by humans either fresh or dried, and manzanita tea brewed from the berries and leaves is not unheard of. The leaves too can be useful, and a waxy coating helps retain water and chewing them can help fend off dehydration. The native americans supposedly used them as toothbrushes to brush their teeth. The wood is mainly red, and during certain times it peels, creating small curled shavings.
Manzanita does not grow large enough or thick enough to use as materials for large pieces of furniture such as tabletops, however, it is still a frequently used material in wood crafting. Manzanita is frequently used to create bowls, vases, and other decorative items, and sometimes unaltered manzanita branches are used as the legs or arms of other wood furniture. The reason this small tree is used for wood despite is size is because of it's unique look and adaptation.
Manzanita wood is not a single color, but often forms in a twisting combination of red and white wood that wraps and swirls in very appealing ways. This is due to the manzanita's unique adaptation for its dry desert-like environment. When water is scarce, the manzanita has the ability to shut off and close selective capillaries within itself that carry water. By doing this, it deprives parts of itself of water, and these parts die, creating a dark gray bark in appearance on the plant that when cleaned and polished becomes red (whereas the red parts when cleaned and polished become white or pale yellow wood.) Essentially, by killing part of itself, the manzanita becomes "smaller" in terms of actual living plant, and therefore needs less water and can survive the drought. It is this unique flow and mixture of dehydrated dead wood and hydrated living wood that gives manzanita wood its unique appearance desired by wood carvers around the world.
Examples of manzanita used in carving and decoratively:
Other manzanita pictures:
A large manzanita tree
Manzanita leaves
An example of its peeling bark
Manzanita wood in brilliant color when wet from rain
The particular basket in which Bob will get the raevan's soul from is made of manzanita burl and looks like this:
I love manzanita trees and have researched them online before, so all this is from my brain in my own words!!
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