You mean I wasn't supposed to come out???
Reference to "Rootwood" is usually considered to be the root of the hawthorn or "fairy" tree (
Crateaegus monogyna). It is one of the tree shrubs that make up the hedgrows of the British Isles which from what I hear are disappearing fast. The wood is extremely fine grained and very dense and the root is even more so. I have worked a few pieces over the years and even had a hawthorne walking staff at one time that a friend brought back from Ireland that I carved and it works beautifully with good, sharp tools.
Here are a couple of links with some info on hawthorne:
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...ltanefiles.txt
http://www.gardenguides.com/herbs/hawthorne.htm
The shrub has been been imported to the US so I would check with some local nurseries and see.
With that all said my rattling around in my brain is the idea that the blackthorn bushes root is also called rootwood. This also a dense hard wood that comes from the British Isles and is what they make the famous Irish walking sticks from.
Chuck
PS Did you get my PM?