Sola (or ‘shola’) wood are made from a plant called Aeschynomene aspera. It’s a plant that grows wild in marsh areas. Because it grows quickly, it is a renewable resource and one of the lightest known woods. If you've ever felt balsa wood, it feels a lot like that, although considerably softer.
The interior, cork-like heart of the plant (known as the "cream") is covered by a layer of bark on the plant. The majority of sola have their bark scraped away, leaving their center as delicate sheets. These sheets are manually cut to create the sola shapes. Sometimes, the bark is left on before the creation of sheets, creating a unique two-tone effect - These are called ‘bark’
We’ve already told you about where the wood comes from, but how are the flowers actually created and are the safe? Every single sola flower is created by hand and no machines are used. Every flower is composed of petals that are hand-cut from the delicate sola wooden sheets, and then composed to create gorgeous, realistic flowers. It’s an artisanal process that can’t be mechanized.
Although sola on its own is 100% safe, in order to create a sola flower, a thin string is used in the center to hold the flower together. This can potentially cause an injury if tangled on your birds toes. If you still intend on using sola flower because you like the aesthetics of the flowers, just be watchful and remove any toys before it gets too near to its core where the string is used to keep the flowers held together.
One way to provide birds with the necessary enrichment they need is through the use of toys.
