Walking stick - Wood

Natural knobbly stick, an incredible example of what in English is called Burr Wood or Knobbly Stick. It is almost certainly a Christ's thorn tree stick (Paliurus spina-christi). It is a spiny shrub very common in the Mediterranean, known for its extreme hardness and for these natural outgrowths. Those protuberances were not glued on; they are natural growths of the wood. They can be caused by:
- The plant's reaction to pests or fungi (which create these 'galls'). Some shrubs tend to form these lumps along the entire trunk. Each single knob has been hand-smoothed to make it smooth and pleasant to the touch, removing the original thorns. This is the classic pilgrim's staff or hiker's staff of yesteryear. In Italy, these sticks were often associated with the figure of the hermit or the wanderer, precisely for their wild but humanly refined appearance. The 'Iron Spine' says that the cane was designed for real use in mountains or on rough terrain. The metal was used to grip rock and ice, while simultaneously protecting the wood from wear and soil moisture. The wood of Christ's thorn, once peeled and seasoned, takes this typical amber/dark honey color, it is an extremely hard wood, comparable to boxwood or ebony in terms of cutting resistance. This wood is also called 'Spina di Cristo' because it is believed that the crown of thorns was made exactly from the flexible, spiny branches of this plant. Estimated period: 1920 – 1950. Length: 89 cm.