This type of wood is known as 'open-air gold': The Chinese royal family trusts it and uses it, rich people bring sacks of money to buy it!

During the "fever" period, this type of wood costs up to hundreds of billions of dong. That is milk wood .

What kind of wood is it that is so expensive?

The type of wood is considered "open-air gold block"

According to Nhan Dan newspaper , the scientific name Dalbrgia tonkinensis Prain is a rare species belonging to group IA specified in the Government's Decree on the management of rare and endangered forest plants and animals. This type of wood is strictly prohibited by the State from being exploited and used for commercial purposes. Sua also has other names: Trac rot, Huyen Dan, Hue Moc Vang.

Sua is a rare type of wood. (Photo: Sua wood).

Sua is a small tree, deciduous seasonally, 6-12m tall (can also be up to 15m tall), with average growth. The tree trunk is axial and scattered. The bark of the tree trunk is yellow-brown or gray, longitudinally cracked. Young branches are green and have sparse fine hairs. Leaves grow alternately, have an odd pinnate compound leaf structure, each compound has 9-17 leaflets attached alternately on the main stem. The leaflets are oval and oblong, have a pointed tip or tip, a rounded tail, and the underside of the leaf blade is often pale white. The size of the leaflets is 6–9 cm long and 3–5 cm wide. The leaves attached at the tip of the double stem are usually larger in size than the remaining leaves. The main stem and leaflets are hairless, and the leaflets are hairless. Has small, hairless stipules that fall off early.

Flowers grow from the leaf axils, often appearing before the leaves fully grow. The self-spreading flowers include many white flowers, 7-9mm in size, with a light fragrance. Flowering season is February-March. The fruit is an oblong egg-shaped bean, 5-7.5 cm long, about 2-2.5 cm wide. The fruit contains 1-2 seeds, each seed is about 8-9mm in diameter, flat kidney-shaped. When ripe, the fruit does not split on its own.

Sua is a light-loving plant that likes deep, thick soil and high humidity . Distributed at absolute altitudes below 500m. Milkweed in the wild is found in tropical rainforests and monsoon rainforests. They are mainly distributed in Vietnam and are also found in Hainan, China.

Milk wood gives off a seductive, slightly incense-like scent . When burned, the ashes have a milky white color and an unpleasant odor, so they are called rotten rosewood. Rotten rosewood only uses the core of trees over a hundred years old. The wood has smooth fibers, is both hard and flexible, and has many beautiful patterns.

Sharing with Tuoi Tre newspaper , Dr. Le Ba Toan, head of the forestry department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, said that there are two main species of skim milk: white milk and red milk, besides there is also yellow milk tree.

Based on the flower color and heartwood color of each type of milk, people name it red milk or white milk. White sua (also known as cool tan) produces pure white flowers, radiates a cool fragrance, large fruits and burns without odor. Red milk has a rougher body than white milk , the fruit forms into clusters and when burned has a rotten smell, so red milk is also called rotten milk. Gardeners distinguish these two species of milkweed by observing the leaves: white milkweed has 2 leaves growing opposite each other, red milkweed has 2 leaves growing alternately. The wood of red acacia is more valuable than white acacia.

White sua flowers. (Photo: Ha Giang Newspaper).

Red milkwood is a rare wood with high economic value, often used to make furniture, flavorings and medicinal herbs.

In an interview with Nhan Dan newspaper , Prof. Dr. Pham Binh Quyen - Center for Natural Resources and Environment (Hanoi National University) shared that milkweed is not a difficult plant to propagate, but this is a life-cycle plant. Tree growth is very high: 60 years for a tree to mature . A tree can only grow less than 0.5 cm in diameter per year.

Sua wood is a precious wood that, after drying, does not crack, deform, and is not susceptible to termites, so it is very popular in the Chinese and Korean markets.

In China, the milkwood tree is called Hoang Hoa Pear wood. For a long time, Chinese people have considered red wood to be one of the four most precious types of wood, including Purple Dan, Hoang Hoa Pear, Ke Si and Iron Force.

During feudal times, milkwood was used as furniture in the royal palace. (Photo: Sua wood)

In a book of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), it is recorded: "Pear wood is found in An Nam and Hainan Island. When making beds, Pear wood is quite similar to apricot wood but is harder and more attractive." . During the Ming Dynasty, pear wood was used to make thrones, daily utensils, tables, chairs, and beds for kings and aristocratic families.

According to Dan Tri , people compare skimmed trees to "open-air gold" because of their expensive price. Each sua tree 20 years old or more costs tens of billions of dong, even for ancient trees it can cost hundreds of billions. Many tycoons are willing to give sacks of money to own this special type of wood.

Other values ​​of milk wood

Some Chinese books such as "The Great Dictionary of Chinese Medicine" and "Manuscript of Jiangmu" all evaluate that the wood has great medical uses such as: stopping bleeding, pain relief, anti-blood pressure, intestinal diseases, laxative. Qi, contains heart disease and active blood. The Chinese believe that having milkwood as a pillow is no different from medicine being injected directly into the body.

The Chinese believe that having milkwood as a pillow is no different from medicine being injected directly into the body. (Photo: Ha Giang Newspaper)

Assessing the value of milkwood, Dr. Nguyen Tien Hiep, Director of the Vietnam Plant Conservation Center, said that milkwood has economic value. Milkwood is a rare tree in nature, but nowadays it is increasingly scarce and often stolen. In some places, to protect trees, people have to be on duty and roll up barbed wire. Recently, many localities in Vietnam are also experimenting with expanding the area of ​​growing natural milkwood.