Bog oak veneer (also known as 'swamp oak')) is cut from summer or winter oak that has lain in a marsh for hundreds or thousands of years. A true fossil! When the tannic acid in the wood reacts with the gases in the marsh, the wood discolors. The distinctive characteristics of the salvaged logs become especially apparent when they are processed into veneer. Here, bog oak shows its blue, greenish-blue to deep black shades. The decorative wood with large pores has a striped or grainy texture. Particularly on the radial face, strikingly wide wood rays are visible.