MAGKONO

When i was a small child, I once saw a farmer trying to cut down a dead Magkono tree and watched as his ax blade bounced off the wood's iron hardness, sparks flying off as if the metal was striking metal. That was when first learned of this species of Philippine hardwood that grows only in certain parts of the country, among them the province of Surigao Del Sur. Lianga, as a logging town, was a major supplier of this rather rare, dark-colored & highly prized wood often made into furniture and decorative pieces.
Nowadays, the cutting down of this tree species is banned by law but a steady yet diminished supply is available from both legal and illegal sources.