Pohutakawa Platter

Pohutakawa Platter
22inches Dia its not often you get a piece of Pohutakawa without defects, cracks, bark intrusions or dozy spots
I wet turned this to about an inch thick a year ago.
Hopefully I have done the flowers justice as the tree when in bloom is the most amazing site, a crimson haze projects from the tree the colour is so over powering.
What gave me the idea to place flowers on the piece is the day I turned this platter a package arrived from Singapore airlines and on the box was what looked like a close image of the Pohutakawa flower.
I scanned the box and then photo copied onto tracing paper and used as a pattern
The finish is lacquer, it’s not before time I think I have finally (touch wood) nailed the spraying so I am 99% happy with the
Finish, 6 coats were applied sanding with 800 grit between each coat
This piece of wood was as hard as nails and was full of silicone as it came from a tree that had fallen at the beach.

The roots of the Pohutakawa tree can grow over surfaces while it searches for soil and moisture. The Pohutakawa tree can grow up to 20m high and 35m wide. The leaves are dark green and shiny on top and a silvery gray underneath. In New Zealand the Pohutakawa tree grows bright red flowers every December so it is sometimes called the New Zealand Christmas tree. The Pohutakawa tree can live for thousands of years and are usually found near water.
http://www.timberly.co.nz/links.htm I have added a link on my web site to a description of the Pohutakawa .There is also information on a lot of our natives that might be of interest to wood hunters
Comments welcomed
Cheers