4 BULLETIN 1037, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
DEFINITION OF SAP-STAIN. 
The term “ sap-stain ” refers to the blue, green, brown, or red dis¬ 
coloration which often may be observed in the sapwood of timber 
derived from several kinds of broad-leaved and coniferous trees. 
It must not be confused, however, with the superficial discolorations 
produced mechanically, i. e., by collections of dirt and coal dust, by 
deposits from the drip in leaky cars and sheds, or from the condensed 
moisture in kilns. Such deposits may occur upon heartwood as well 
as sapwood. Neither should it be confused with the common blue- 
purple stain apparent when rusty saws are used on certain green 
wood, such as oak. This stain results from the reaction between the 
tannic acids of the wrnod and the iron compounds from the saw. 
Finally, it must not be confounded with the variously colored super¬ 
ficial growths of molds or the more or less deep seated sap-rot, with 
its brown to bleached appearance and its tendency to produce a 
punky consistency of the sapwood itself. 
There are two quite generally recognized classes of sap-stain: (1) 
The chemical stain, said to be produced by chemical reactions brought 
about through the agency of certain oxidizing enzyms present in the 
wood itself; and (2) fungous stains known to be caused by several 
species of fungi. 
CHEMICAL STAINS. 
r * ’ ’ •• . • -»- « • ’ 
Chemical stains due to enzyms cause discolorations in both the sap- 
wood and the heartwood of sugar pine and hard maple (Tiemann, 
<51, p. 185; also Pratt, 34, p- 805-307). Such stains develop during 
air drying, particularly under warm and humid conditions, or in 
the kiln, and give more or less permanent discolorations to the wood, 
to wit, a brown stain in sugar pine (fig. 1) and a'cherry color in 
hard maple. These defects cause degrading (34) and often result in 
financial losses. According to Bailey (-5), when freshly cut sapwood 
of alder, birch, cherry, or red gum is exposed to the air during ex¬ 
tremely warm and humid Aveather, chemical reactions often take place 
and within a few hours produce colored substances in the Avood. Bailey 
(5) states that the microscopic examination of sections of such wood 
indicates that the colored substance deA r elops particularly within the 
pith rays and the parenchyma cells. He states that certain soluble 
enzyms which assist in the oxidation of organic compounds and are 
of prime importance in the nutrition and groAvth of living organ¬ 
isms are widely distributed in plants and animals and may also pro¬ 
duce post-mortem discolorations of certain organic compounds (see 
also Clark &, 9). Yoshida (59) discovered in 1883 that an oxidizing 
ferment is responsible for the oxidation of the latex in certain species 
of Rhus and the formation thereby of black varnish, or lacquer. 
Investigations have also shown that discolorations in fruit juices, 
