Swamp kauri

[1][2] Buried under a peat swamp by an unexplained act of nature at the end of the last Ice Age, the trees have survived the centuries underground, sealed in a chemically balanced environment that has preserved the timber in almost perfect condition.

For this reason complete round logs lying deeper in the ground are occasionally found.

Extraction of the logs is time consuming, expensive and technically difficult, requiring skilled operators of heavy machinery working in wet conditions.

[6] A trademark of swamp kauri is deep, shimmering streaks of iridescence, called "white bait", found in some of the wilder grain patterns.

This particular grain is named after schools of New Zealand whitebait fish that emit a similar pattern when swimming in one direction.