"Charlie Self" wrote in news:1112108326.532789.14970
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

Doug Miller notes:
the sapwood is indeed white, or nearly so, when it's fresh, and it
*does* darken over time. But to say that it becomes "almost as dark as
the
heartwood" is a bit of an exaggeration. I have a cherry bookcase built
almost
18 years ago on which the sapwood on the sides is still clearly
visible.

Yes. And I discovered not too long ago that cherry from different areas
is a different color. Recently, I gave a friend some 10/4 cherry to use
as feet on quilt racks. He built most of the rest out of 4/4
Pennsylvania cherry. The Pennsy cherry was substantially darker than
our Virginia cherry. Both woods were freshly machined. Something to do
with soil content, I guess.

I see the same thing. Seems like cherry from farther north tends
to be darker than that from the south, with the exception that wood
from North Florida seems to be very dark. But I'm not certain that
"florida cherry" is actually the same sub-species.

John