A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1190 entries
tinder
Tinder is the finest material in a fire lay, the stuff that will take a spark or a coal and turn it into flame. It has to be dry, fine, and full of air: teased bark fiber, seed down, dry grass, wood shavings, fungal punk. It is distinct from kindling, which is what tinder lights, and from fuel, which is what kindling lights, and getting the three in the right order is most of the skill.
Etymology
The word is Old English and it is related to a verb meaning to kindle, which also gives tinderbox and the adjective tindery. It is one of the oldest words in the language for one of the oldest problems, and the fact that it has a dedicated word separate from every other part of a fire says how much the distinction mattered.
Notes
The classic tinders are worth knowing because they are everywhere: cedar and juniper inner bark, birch bark, clematis and honeysuckle bark, cattail down, thistle down, and the fungal materials punk, touchwood, and tinder fungus. The best of them will take a spark from flint and steel directly, which is the test that separates real tinder from very small kindling.