Mystery Wood?

Can any of you identify this piece of wood?    

This isn't a competition but it would be interesting to see if anyone can guess what the true identity of this wood is.  It will not be known until the chain saw cuts into it, not sure when that will be, but hopefully soon.

In the meantime have a stab at guessing what it is.

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Here it is basking in the late afternoon sun in our garden, the only clue I can give you is that it did not come from a forest, but was growing in a large garden.  We have our suspicions but not absolutely sure.  But as you can guess its future is sort of mapped out  - tatting shuttles!

Here is a block of wood ready to be made into a shuttle from the previous post. 

It comes from a Maacki Chinensis tree introduced into England in 1908 from China by a Mr. Ernest Wilson (you can read more about the species from Fox's comment on my last post). What I particularly like about it is the chocolate colour grain running through it, can't wait to see a shuttle made from this piece of wood.

Over the years I have managed to buy almost all of Mary Konior's books brand new, but this one kept slipping through my fingers, it was purchased from e.bay and I was the only person to bid on it, which was very strange. But happily it has found a very good home and is in excellent condition.