Elderberry wrinkle bowl

"Character" just oozes from that one, Zach.....

What is the size? Is there any relationship to Cottonwood? I'm working on a cottonwood burl that looks very similar to this.....

-----odie-----

Details! I'm smacking myself on the forehead. I'll get this gallery thing yet. Thanks for asking, Odie.

It's about 5 1/2" across. Cottonwood does have a similar color, though elderberry is more of a shrub than a tree, and not related to my knowledge. Elderberry likes sunny areas with wet ground. It mixes with alder and sometimes cottonwood. Elderberry is usually no more than a few inches in diameter, though I was once charged with cutting a 12" trunk on trailcrew.

An interesting thing of elderberry is that it has a hollow pith, filled with a brownish rosin that was used as a dry lubricant in handmade clocks and watches for centuries. The berries are also medicinal, though the leaves and bark are poisonous. The berries ferment in the fall (like mountain ash berries) and crows and ravens are known to eat too many and fall out of the sky drunk!

The fairly wide aperture that you used (f/5.6), adds a really nice three dimensional presence to the image.

Thanks, Bill! A photo compliment from you means a lot. My wife took the photo, so I'll pass on the compliment.