Clearly and resonantly tuned to a concert/recording quality Am (A=440) pentatonic scale, modes 1 & 4, playing three upper register notes, this Tree Tobacco ( Nicotiana glauca ) prayer flute measures 19" in length, with 4 tuning/direction holes.  As with all Dryad Flutes, it was bored out unsplit, maintaining its natural appearance, strength and the integrity of its growth rings.  The bark has been artistically shaped in darker contrast to the beautifully finished, lighter colored wood grain.  Knots and branchlet stubs have been inlaid with crushed Abalone shell.  American bison lacing lends its spirit and strength to secure the bird to its nest.  To help prevent wetout, the bird has been fitted with a cedar shoe, and a drain hole, covered by the lacing, has been designed into the air chamber.  The flute has been well sealed, inside and out, so that neither of the alkaloids in Nicotiana glauca (nicotine and anabasine) come into contact with the player.   

Tree Tobacco is a species of wild tobacco native to South America that can grow to the size of a small tree.  It has naturalized to other parts of the world, including here in Southern California where the Cahuilla Indians used its leaves "interchangeably with other tobacco species in hunting rituals and as a poultice to treat swellings, bruises, cuts, wounds, boils, sores, inflamed throat, and swollen glands." (source)  Various types of tobacco have been used traditionally in native cultures throughout the Americas as offerings to the spirits, for planting, for gathering food, for healings and for the Native American Pipe Ceremony. (source)

The Tree Tobacco used for this flute was gathered with deep respect and gratitude, from an area slated for development, shortly before the bulldozers would have plowed it under.  Its life continues now as a spirit-filled flute, especially suited for prayerful, healing intentions. 

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