What material were early artificial Christmas trees made from in the 19th century?

What material were early artificial Christmas trees made from in the 19th century? Goose feathers.

Early artificial Christmas trees were made from goose feathers, usually dyed green and attached to wire branches. The branches were arranged around a central dowel that served as the trunk, creating a lightweight substitute for a freshly cut evergreen.

These feather trees developed in 19th-century Germany, partly in response to concerns about deforestation. Their widely spaced branches also left room for ornaments and reduced the risk that candles would ignite nearby foliage. Some trees had artificial red berries at the branch tips that doubled as candle holders.

The feather design later spread beyond Germany, including to the United States. It was eventually replaced by other forms of artificial tree: brush-bristle trees appeared in 1930, aluminum trees became popular after their late-1950s introduction, and plastic PVC is common in modern production.

Wood, metal, and plastic are associated with later artificial-tree designs, not the earliest widely recognized 19th-century feather trees.