Other common names: okoum, angouma, combogala, n'goumi, and mofoumou. 

Distribution: A very valuable commercial timber that grows in equatorial Africa. 

Tree Data:  

Timber Properties : Usually straight grained but sometimes wavy (producing an attractive striping on quarter-sawn surfaces), uniform texture, natural luster, pinkish heartwood. Light, soft, relatively weak wood with low stiffness and shock resistance, low decay resistance and moderate stability. Poor steam bending rating. 

Working Characteristics: Works fairly easily although silica in wood results in above average blunting of cutting edges. Can be nailed and screwed without pre-drilling and glues without trouble. Stains and varnishes satisfactorily with ample scraping and sanding. 

Common Uses: Uses include plywood, blockboard, joinery, moldings and other interior trim, fine furniture, cigar boxes, construction, paneling, and decorative veneers.

Tree of 25 the 35 meters of height, gift in forests of the states of Pará until the Rio Grande Do Sul. Its wood is used for civil construction, pisos, would marcenaria, decorative esquadrias, panels, etc. 880 kg very durable

see Cherry, European

Heartwood is light pink darkening to rich brown , interlocked grain giving a silky finish

Works well but shows some wood borer beetle activity

see Mahogany (So. Amer)

Sapwood is not well-defined and is lighter in colour than the heartwood, which is light grey-brown to light brownish red. Grain is straight to shallowly interlocked. Texture is very fine and even. This is an important marine piling timber in Sabah. It is also an attractive wood for furniture. Other uses include flooring, interior finishing, panelling, moulding, door and window frames, pallets and crates.  

see Teak, Burmese

 Other common names:

 Distribution:  

Tree Data:  

Timber Properties : The wood is very similar to Chengal except that the green tinge of colour of freshly sawn timber is not so pronounced in Giam and that ripple marks are absent. Sapwood only moderately distinct from the heartwood unless blue-stained. The colour of heartwood is yellow-brown, weathering to a dark red-brown. Grain is deeply interlocked. Texture is very fine to moderately fine and even. 

Working Characteristics:  

Common Uses: Suitable for all heavy construction, bridges, wharves, posts, beams, joists, heavy-duty flooring, transmission posts, raiway sleepers, lorry and truck bodies, keels and framework of boats, container floor boards and heavy-duty laboratory benches. 

see Western Red Cedar

see Western Red Cedar

see Sugar Pine

Brazil Fresh heartwood is bright yellow, drying to golden yellow. Exposure to light and air changes this wood to brown or russet. Aging changes most pieces from the yellow of the freshly cut wood to a deep honey orange brown.

see Mahogany, African

Other common names: Ron-ron Tigerwood 

Distribution: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala Goncalo alves has been heavily exploited because of its great beauty. It is now rare outside of the protection of national parks, and is listed as threatened in "Arboles Maderables en Peligro de Extinción en Costa Rica. 

Tree Data: Goncalo alves is a large canopy tree, sometimes reaching 120 feet in height in the natural rainforest, with a trunk 3 feet in diameter. The tree has a clear, straight cylindrical bole for two-thirds or more of its height, above a small buttress. 

Timber Properties : Goncalo alves ranges in color from light to reddish brown to deep mahogany red-brown with a striking figure created by beautiful, bold, brown to nearly black irregular markings or striping. The texture is fine to medium and uniform, with a fine grain, varying from straight to interlocked and wavy. Tigerwood & Goncalo Alves are the same speciesTigerwood  is a boldly striped specie which has an orangish/reddish brown background with wide dark brownish black striping.  WFI offers a selection chosen specially for its bold striping, which we liken to the striping found in “vanilla fudge” ice cream. Tigerwood , as the name suggests, is a specie which exhibits a wide range of color/striping.  The striping can vary from fine lines to bold “brush strokes”.  The background color can range from light tans to darker orange browns. Tigerwood  exhibits a large degree of color change with a pronounced darkening of the background under the stripes from an orangey tan to a deep reddish brown color, which then in turn makes the striping less contrasting and more subtle 

Working Characteristics: In spite of its high density, goncalo alves turns readily, carves well, finishes very smoothly, and takes a beautiful natural polish. The wood is rated highly durable and has strength values considerably higher than any well-known U.S. species. 

Common Uses: Among the most outstanding and attractive woods, goncalo alves is highly prized for its outstanding beauty. It is used for fine furniture and cabinetry, carving, turnery such as bowls and trays, specialty items such as knife handles, brush backs, and archery bows, and for decorative and figured veneers. 

General : 

Other common names: Kopie Kabukalli  Other Common Names: Saino, Sapino (Colombia), Kopi (Surinam), Kabukalli (Guyana), Goupie (French Guiana), Cupiuba (Brazil). 

Distribution: Uplands of the lower Amazon, the Guianas, and the Serrania de San Lucas, Carare-Opon, Rio Cauca Valley, and other regions of Colombia. 

Tree Data: The Tree: A large buttressed, semi-deciduous, canopy tree; grows to a height of 130 ft and with diameters to 36 in., but usually 20 to 24 in. 

Timber Properties : The Wood:  General Characteristics: Heartwood light reddish brown, darkening superficially upon exposure; distinct but not sharply demarcated from thick brownish or pinkish sapwood Luster medium to rather high; texture medium to coarse; grain straight to interlocked; odor is fetid when fresh but dissipates upon drying though still apparent. Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.72; air-dry density 54 pcf.  Drying and Shrinkage: Moderately difficult to air-season, dries at a moderate rate with only slight warping and checking. Durability: Laboratory evaluations indicate good resistance to attack by both brown and white-rot fungi, but rated only slightly to moderately resistant to decay in field tests in Guyana. Resistant to dry-wood termite attack but has little resistance to marine borers.  Preservation: Heartwood is very resistant and sapwood is moderately resistant to preservation treatments using either open-tank or pressure-vacuum systems. 

Working Characteristics: Working Properties: It is rated fair to good in most operations but torn and chipped grain is common in planing because of interlocked grain. Coarser material requires filler to obtain a smooth finish. 

Common Uses:  General : Heavy construction, industrial flooring, furniture components. A highly favored general purpose timber in the Guianas. 

Japanese White Pine) Attains a height of 80 feet and diameter of 25 inches. Wood is light and soft, used in house and ship building and for charcoal. 

see Cocobolo

Has the widest distribution of any true fir in the West, ranging from Vancouver Is. south near the Coast to Sonoma County, California, and south into the northern Rocky Mountains.  A large tree, sometimes 300' high and over 4' in diameter.  The wood is light, soft, coarse-grained and very perishable in contact with soil.  Used for common lumber purposes, boxes and crates, and paper pulp. 

see Elm, American

see Elm, Slippery

see Sycamore Plane

BrazilGreen IronWood has a general olive brown hue, often with lighter yellowish or dark green stripes. The grain varies from straight to irregular with quite a bit of figure showing in some pieces COLOR CHANGE: Over time the overall green tone mellows to a more brown appearance. 

Other common names: Bibiru, Siprir, Kevatuk (Guyana), Beeberoe, Demerara groenhart, Sipiroe (Surinam). 

Distribution: Commercial quantities mostly in the north central portion of Guyana but also found in Surinam and in the Venezuelan Guiana. It has also been reported from the Maroni Region of western French Guiana and from northern Brazil. 

Tree Data: The Tree Grows to a height of 130 ft with diameters up to 40 in., commonly 16 to 24 in. in diameter with heights of 100 ft. Boles are cylindrical, straight, and clear for 50 to 75 ft with only moderate taper; usually basally swollen or with low buttresses. 

Timber Properties : Heartwood varies from light to dark olive green or blackish, often with intermingling of lighter and darker areas; not sharply defined from the pale yellow or greenish sapwood. Texture fine and uniform; grain straight to roey; lustrous; odorless and tasteless when dry. Weight: Basic specific gravity (oven-dry weight/green volume) 0.80 to .091; air-dry density 62 to 70 pcf. Drying and Shrinkage: The wood dries very slowly with a marked tendency to check and end split; however warping is not serious and the total amount of degrade is not excessive. Lumber over 1 in. in thickness should be air-seasoned prior to kiln-drying. Movement in service is rated medium. The heartwood is rated highly resistant to attack by decay fungi and is also rated as highly resistant to attacks by marine borers but this may vary from one locality to another, particularly in brackish waters, Highly resistant to attack by dry-wood termites. Preservation: Impermeable to preservative treatments. 

Working Characteristics: Moderately difficult to work with hand or machine tool because of its density, dulls cutting edges rather quickly but finishes to a fine smooth lustrous surface. Turns easily and takes a high polish. A moderately good steam-bending wood. Gluing gives variable results. 

Common Uses: The Wood General Characteristics: Working Properties: Durability: Uses: Marine and ship construction, lock gates, docks, industrial flooring, vats filter press plates, piling, heavy construction, turnery, specialty items (fishing rods, billiard cue butts). 

General : 

 East African greenheart

see Blackwood, African

see Alder, Common

Heartwood is a pale brown with an occasional blush of pink. Sapwood is much paler. Texture is fine and even with a grain that is usually interlocking. Structural Uses include heavy engineering construction, poles, piles, and sleepers. Grey coast box is commonly used in ground. Grey coast box is an extremely hard timber with associated difficulty of working involving tool blunting and the like. The timber is however satisfactory for bending. Heartwood is very durable. Sapwod is susceptible to lyctid attack. 1100 kg/cu.m

see Elm, American

see Elm, Slippery

see Oak, Red

 light red / brown flaky – 800 kg m-3 medium – interior joinery carpentry, furniture, turnings

Other common names: white guarea, light bosse, obobonufua, and scented guarea. G. thompsonii also known as black guarea, obobo, bosse, diambi, ebanghemwa, and divuitii. 

Distribution: Grows in tropical west Africa, primarily the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. 

Tree Data:  Timber Properties : Straight, sometimes curly grain with a medium fine texture. Mahogany-colored reddish brown heartwood and wide, paler pinkish brown sapwood. Light and moderately hard with moderate stiffness, moderately high bending and crushing strength, low shock resistance, moderate decay resistance, and medium stability in use. Good abrasion resistance. Steam bends fairly well (G. cedrata better than G. thompsonii.

Working Characteristics: Works relatively easily with hand or machine tools although wood has tendency to be woolly and gum deposits hasten dulling of cutting edges. Glues and sands easily. Holds nails and screws well. Stains and finishes satisfactorily although gum exudation can be a nuisance. 

Common Uses: Used for furniture, interior joinery, drawer components, boat and vehicle construction, flooring, sports equipment, dowels, rifle butts, exterior plywood, and decorative veneer. 

General : Two species typically sold as one commercial species. Sawdust can be extremely irritating to some individuals.

see Guarea

see Guarea

see Guarea

see Pau Marfim

see Lignumvitae

Very closely related to the "Sal" of India and very similar to Apitong. Tough, moderately heavy and hard wood. Seasons badly. Attains a diameter of 4 1/2 feet. Used for general construction, ship and bridge building, sheels, inferior furniture, barrels, decking, docks, oars, masts and poles. 

See Baldcypress

see redgum

see Tupelo, Black

Blue gum is a native of Australia, and has been widely planted in California, Arizona, Florida, South America and Africa. . In California it is the best-known member of this large genus. It was introduced into California in the late 1800's, and initially gave much promise because it is a fast-growing hardwood. However, difficulties in drying the lumber caused most plantations to be abandoned as timber-growing sites. Blue Gum is not related to the Southern Red Gum now used so much for interior trim. The wood is very heavy and hard and tough, is of great strength, but not durable. However, the greatest difficulty has been experienced in efforts to dry it without checking, warping, twisting and "washboarding", the latter a form of fiber collapse. 

Grey Iron Gum, Brown Grey Gum Heartwood is red to red-brown with distinctly paler sapwood. Texture is coarse and even with an interlocking grain. Occasional grub hole Structural, Flooring Grey Gum is most commonly used in heavy engineering construction involving poles, piles, mining timbers, sleepers and the like. Broadly, uses include framing, flooring and retaining walls. Grey Gum is a tough, durable timber with dense interlocking grain. It is difficult to work especially when dry. Readily accepts polish, stain and paint. Prepare surface immediately before gluing. Fixes and machines well. Heartwood is very durable with a sapwood which is resistant to attack by lyctid. It is commonly used in ground. 1050 kg/cu.m

Heartwood pinkish brown with lighter sapwood. Some logs contain an excessive amount of gum vein. Structural, Flooring, Internal lining, joinery Grey Mountain Gum is used in general construction applications. Internally it is used in flooring, paneling, furniture and joinery. Grey mountain gum is reasonably easy to work. It is possible that this wood will be expressed in furniture, paneling, veneer, joinery and flooring as it is very attractive, however gum vein can interfere with finish, so selection and quality control are factors to consider in use which bears on the workability level required. Heartwood is moderately durable. Sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer attack. 850 kg/cu.m

Also known as Sweet Gum or Satin Walnut. Not to be confused with Eucalyptus which is also called Gum. A tree of great economic importance. Found native from southern Connecticut south to Florida and west to Indiana, Missouri and Texas, also in Mexico and Central America. Confined to rich bottom land and stream borders. Attains size of 5' x 150', averaging 2 1/2' x 125'. The wood is moderately hard, close-grained and easy to work, though difficult to season. Often highly figured. Popular for furniture, interior trim and veneer. Plainer types much used for boxes, barrels, wooden dishes and turnery.

Heartwood is a straw colour with pink and yellow tints. The sapwood is not always easy to distinguish. Structural, Flooring Shining Gum is used in general construction and flooring. Material that is free of defect could be considered for joinery work. Also, there is some use in protected framing above ground, and fence rails and palings. Moderately workable. Heartwood is not sufficiently durable for external use. Sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer attack. 650 kg/cu.m

see Tupelo, Black

see Oak, Australian

see Oak, Australian

Heartwood is dark pink to red-brown. Sapwood is distinctly paler. Texture moderately coarse and even. Grain is slightly interlocked or straight. Gum veining is common. Flooring, Internal lining, External cladding Sydney Blue Gum is also used for general building purposes, decking and boat building. Sydney Blue Gum is relatively easy to work. Heartwood is moderately durable. Sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer attack. 850 kg/cu.mAustraliaSydney Blue Gum is dense hardwood with a deep reddish color.  Sydney Blue Gum offers a wide range of color variability, from pinks through to burgundy reds. In re-growth timber, the color can be a pale straw color with pink highlights. Many Australian suppliers mix the various red colored species and offer it under the same name leading to even further color variation. Sydney Blue Gum undergoes a medium degree of color change, with a slight muting of the colors over time and darkening to a medium brownish red. 

see Tupelo, Black

see Walnut, Black

see Messmate, Gympie

see European Hornbeam

Other common names: sugarberry, nettle tree, bastard elm, hoop ash and hacktree. Celtis laevigata- Almez Americano, American Celtis, Bagolaro Americano, Bois, Inconnu, Connu, Lowland Hackberry, Micocoulier a Sucre, Palo Blanco, Sockernasslatrad, Southern Hackberry, Sugarberry, Sugar Hackberry, Suikernetelboom, Texas Sugarberry, Celtis lindheimeri-Lindheimer Hackberry, Palo Blanco Celtis occidentalis-Almez Occidental, American Hackberry, Bagolaro Occidentale,Bar-alm, Bastard Elm, Beaverwood, Bigleaf Hackberry, Common Hackberry, False Elm, Hackberry, Hacktree, Hoop Ash, Huck, Micocoulier Occidental, Nettletree, Northern Hackberry, Oneberry, Sugarberry, Western Hackberry, Westerse Netelboom, Zwepenboom Celtis reticulata-Netleaf Hackberry, Palo Blanco, Sugarberry, Thick Leaved Hackberry, Western Hackberry Celtis tenuifolia-Dwarf Hackberry, Georgia Hackberry, Upland Hackberry 

Distribution: Grows in eastern half of United States and southern Canada. The genus Celtis is composed of about 75 species native to: the United States [7], Mexico and Central America [9] and the northern temperate and tropical zones and south Africa. The name celtis is the classical Latin name for a species of lotus. 

Tree Data: The Tree Hackberry trees can reach heights of 130 feet, with a diameter of 4 feet. 

Timber Properties : Straight or sometimes interlocked grain and fairly uniform texture. Yellowish gray to light brown heartwood and pale to greenish yellow sapwood. Soft and moderately heavy with low strength, stiffness, shock resistance and decay resistance. Medium movement in service. The sapwood of hackberry is pale yellow to grayish or greenish yellow, while the heartwood is a yellowish gray brown to light brown. The wood is straight grained, moderately hard, strong in bending, but weak in compression. It also has high shock resistance, but lacks stiffness, with excellent glueing properties. 560 kg cum 

Working Characteristics: Works easily with machine or sharp hand tools. Good carving wood. Pre-drilling recommended for screwing or nailing. Glues, stains and finishes well - natural finishes especially. Hackberry wood planes and turns well. It is intermediate in ability to hold nails and screws. It resists splitting from screws better than from nails. 

Common Uses: Resembles ash and elm and has similar uses, such as: crates, farm implements, carving, athletic goods, millwork, and interior cabinetry Furniture, millwork, sporting and athletic goods, boxes and crates, veneer and plywood. General :.

see Western Larch

see Hackberry

New Zealand

Kwao

India, Thailand

the wide sapwood is yellowish white merging gradually into the yellowish heartwood.  Straight grained with a fine uniform texture.

Works well and give a silky finish

Moderately durable

Used for turnery and furniture.

New Zealand privet

4m. A bushy shrub with bright shiny light green leaves. Mainly found in lowland and coastal forest.

Tiny greenish white perfumed flowers smother their stems through spring.

Fruits February.

Rapid shade producer.

see Birch, Yellow

see Elm, Rock

see Maple, Hard

see Sycamore Plane

Elm) From Japan Attains a height of 80 feet and diameter of 4 1/2 feet. Wood hard and compact, splits with difficulty and is used for wheels, turning, and cabinet work. 

Tree rarely exceeds 2.5m and is slender

Heartwood is whitish with a yellow tinge, straight grained moderately fine even texture.

Not economically important

Difficult to work but carves satisfactorily

Naturally durable and stable

Used for inlays and tool handles

whiten to light reddish brown in colour, straight grained with a fine uniform texture

easy timber to work giving good finished surfaces

needs pre drilling as has a tendency to split

used in mouldings

see Sweetgum

see Katsura

see Albizia

see Osage-Orange

see Hemlock, Western    see Hemlock, Eastern

see Hemlock, Western

see Hemlock, Eastern

see Hemlock, Eastern

Other common names: hemlock, Canadian hemlock and hemlock spruce. Distribution: An important and abundant tree in the forests of the Northeastern and Lake States and extending south along the mountains into Georgia. Tree Data: Attains a size of 4' x 100'. Timber Properties : Uneven, frequently spiral grained with medium to coarse texture. Uneven, frequently spiral grained with medium to coarse texture. Buff to light brown color, heartwood indistinguishable from sapwood. Light and soft with low ratings for stiffness, bending and compression strength, shock resistance, and decay resistance. The wood is light and soft, and difficult to season without twisting and checking. Working Characteristics: Works reasonably well with machine or hand tools although it is brittle. Glues satisfactorily. Pre-drilling recommended to prevent splitting when screwing or nailing. Accepts paint, stains, varnishes, and polishes well. Common Uses: Used mainly for building construction, as well as boxes, crates, pallets, casks, shingles, siding, and pulpwood. General :

Other common names: hemlock and Pacific hemlock. Canada Pine and is also sold in Australia under the trading name Hem-Fir which is a mixture of similar looking timbers where Hemlock is predominate. Distribution: Grows in western United States and Canada. A large softwood of the North American north west all through Canada down into the USA, being a very important commercial specie in Canada. Natural range extends from Alaska south to Marin County, California, and East to Idaho and Montana, reaching its best development west of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington. Tree Data: Maximum size is 8' x 200' (averages 3-4' x 150'). Timber Properties : Straight and even grained with a fine to medium texture. Whitish to light yellowish brown color, heartwood not distinct. Light and soft with moderate stiffness, bending strength, compression strength, and steam bending, low shock resistance and decay resistance. Good dimensional stability. Density(average) 500kg/m3 dry The timber is staw coloured rangeing through to a very pale brown with heartwood and sapwood not easily distinguished. It has a very fine evan texture and normally straight grained, with growth rings fairly prominent, caused by the darker bands of latewood. and is usually non-resinous. Working Characteristics: Works easily with machine or hand tools (slightly better than eastern hemlock). Accepts paint, stains, varnishes, and polishes well. Glues quite easily. Pre-drilling recommended for screwing and nailing (but less apt to split than eastern hemlock). Hemlock works extemely well taking glue and nails, however being low in durability is not recomended for external use. Common Uses: Used mainly for building construction. Also used for interior and exterior joinery, doors, flooring, vehicle bodywork, turnery, broom handles, boxes, crates, pallets, cooperage, furniture, ladders, plwood, paneling, veneer, and pulpwood General : The wood is moderately hard and tough and quite superior to that of eastern hemlock, on whose account western hemlock has long borne a trade prejudice. Used for plywood, studs, flooring and general building lumber; the bark contains tannin. The wood is used for step ladder rails. 

Other common names: Shagbark hickory. Distribution: Its range is from southern Maine, west to Minnesota, and south to Texas and Florida, though absent in large localities within this region. Of the 18 or so species of hickory, four are important for their wood. Shagbark is found mostly in the eastern half of the United States. also commercially important is shellbark hickory which lookds a lot like shagbark, mockernut hickory and pignut hickory. The true hickories grow in ranges from eastern Canada through much of the eastern United States all the way into southwestern Mexico. Tree Data: Maximum size is 4' x 140'. It is a tall tree that has a shaggy bark when mature. Timber Properties : The white sapwood is preferred to the darker heartwood but the prejudice lacks foundation. Hickory wood resembles ash but has a reddish-brown heartwood. when appearance is important, the so-called white hickory, referring to the white sapwood, is often preferred to the heartwood sometimes called red hickory. Hickory, ash and oak are ring porous woods, meaning that the pores of the spring wood form a well-defined ring. It is believed that the toughest timber comes from wide-ringed trees. True hickories usually have a straight grain but it is sometimes wavy or irregular Working Characteristics: Hickory is heavy and strong, but shrinks during drying. It is dense, with high toughness, bending, stiffness and crushing strengths and exceptional shock resistance. It can be difficult to machine and has a moderate blunting effect on tools. Experts recommend a 20-degree cutting angle when irregular grained-wood is used. Stains and finishes very well.  Common Uses: The wood is unequaled for toughness, and is, therefore, famed for tool handles (hammer, axe, etc.), auto and wagon spokes, and similar specialty uses. Hickory provides the right combination of properties -- strength, hardness, very high shock resistance and relatively light weight -- that make it a perfect choice for sporting goods like baseball bats, golf club shafts, skis, longbow backs, heavy sea fishing rods and lacrosse sticks. The biggest use for hickory is in tool handles. Common uses include the handles of striking tools -- hammers, picks and axes -- and wheel spokes, chairs and ladder rungs. It is used for furniture, drumsticks, picking sticks for textiles, tennis rackets, skis and vehicle parts, especially heavy-duty farm equipment. It is also fine for sculpture and carving and is rotary cut for plywood faces and slice dfor decorative veneers for uses including paneling. General : The wood is hard and the smoke is used for cooking much like mesquite and alder. 

see Elm, Rock

see Walnut, Black

see Pecan Hickory

see Hickory, Shagbark

see Hickory, Shagbark

See Hickory  Also known as shellbark hickory, scalybark hickory, white hickory, and red heart hickory. Grows in United States and Canada. Generally straight grained and coarse textured. Brown to reddish brown heartwood and wide, nearly white sapwood. One of the hardest, heaviest and strongest woods in the United States. Excellent elasticity, good steam bending, moderate dimensional stability, and low decay resistance. Machines well but difficult to work with hand tools due to hardness. Nails and screws require pre-drilling to prevent splitting. Polishes to a naturally smooth finish. Mainly used for applications requiring strength and toughness: tool handles, skis, golf clubs, wheels, agricultural implements. Other uses include flooring, furniture, ladders, musical instruments, sounding boards, paneling, veneer, fishing rods, dowels, building materials,.

see Hickory, Shagbark

see Hickory, Shagbark

(Pine) From Japan Attains a height of 75 feet and diameter of 26 inches. Wood is compact and soft and is used in houses, cabinet making and carving. Contains more resin than the common red pine of Japan.

18m. A tree which occurs all over N.Z. in lowland forest. The leaves have a narrow leafed juvenile stage.

Delicate white flowers are found mid spring to summer.

Purple black fruits mid summer to autumn.

Hinoki Cypress From Japan An important timber tree of Japan. Attains a height of 180 feet and diameter of 91/2 feet. Wood is compact, tough and strong. Prized in temples and shrines and palaces for its dignity and elegance. Used also for shipbuilding and bent wood ware and matches. Bark used for rope and roofing. 

Other common names: evergreen, white, Christmas, prickly, scrub, and dune holly.

Distribution: Grows in eastern half of United States. Native to the eastern hardwood forests, occurs naturally from Massachusetts south to Florida and from Indiana south to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Tree Data: It is most common and of largest size (2-3 feet diameter and 40-50 feet high) on moist swamp margins and other rich moist sites but is nowhere abundant. 

Timber Properties : Indistinct, close grain with no obvious figure and a fine texture. Ivory-white heartwood and white sapwood - sapwood usually much wider than the heartwood. Moderately heavy and hard, with good shock resistance, and low bending strength, stiffness, and decay resistance. Steam-bends poorly. 

Working Characteristics: Generally machines well but irregular grain can cause problems. Sands and turns easily and polishes to a fine luster. Glues, screws, and nails well. Stains and finishes satisfactorily - sometimes stained black to simulate ebony. 

Common Uses: Used for turnery, carving, piano and organ keys, marquetry and inlay, wood block engravings, novelties, fixtures, handles, T-squares, fixtures, and furniture. 

General : The wood, perhaps the whitest in the world, is hard, tough, fine-textured and dense. Prized principally for inlay and turnery, and is popular for the white parts of chess boards and pieces. The foliage is much used for Christmas garlands. 

see Holly, American

see Holly, American

white very close grained timber used mainly for inlaying, marquetry and fancy turnery.

see Holly, American

see Holly, American

see Holly, American

see Cedar, South American

see Mahogany (So. Amer)

Also known as locust, sweet locust, and thorny locust. Grows in United States and Canada. Straight grained with light red to reddish brown heartwood and yellowish sapwood. Heavy, hard, and strong with moderately high shock resistance and stiffness. Very decay resistant heartwood. Stable in use. Can be difficult to machine. Pre-drilling required for screwing or nailing. Stains and finishes well. Used for fenceposts and rails, posts, beams, crossties, rough construction, dowels, concealed furniture parts, decks, chests, chairs, tables, and miscellaneous interior construction. Limited availability.

see Mesquite

see Mesquite

(Magnolia) From Japan Attains a height of 60 feet and diameter of 34 inches. Wood is soft and compact. Used for sword sheaths, cabinets, lacquer work, silk-reelers, frames, etc. Its charcoal is used for polishing metal. 

see Ash, Black

see Hackberry

Other common names: ironwood or poor man's lignumvitae. The eastern hophornbeam is sometimes called American hophornbeam, leverwood or ironwood and should not be confused with American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) Distribution: Grows in United States, Ontario and parts of Mexico. The hophornbeams belong to a small family of trees which also includes the hornbeams and the hazels. There are only eight species of hophornbeam, ranging the world from eastern Asia, across Europe and North America. Of the three species occurring in the U.S., only the eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) is found in the Northeast. The range(s) of the eastern hophornbeam is a bit unusual. It is common in the eastern half of the U.S. and just into Canada, in the whole area from Maine westward into North Dakota and southward along the east coast into northern Florida and across into Texas. A second range occurs from the mountains of southern Mexico south through Guatemala and Honduras. Tree Data: Although it prefers dry limestone hillsides, this small understory tree grows well in a wide variety of soil conditions as a minor member of our mixed hardwood forests. It is very shade tolerant and acts as a "nurse tree," providing additional shade to ground level flowers and mosses. The hophornbeam is slow growing, typically 30 feet tall and 6 to 10 inches in diameter, only occasionally to 60 feet with a one foot diameter. A champion tree in Michigan is 74 feet tall with a three foot diameter. New York’s big tree, growing in Attica, is 76 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet in diameter. Timber Properties : Fine grained with inconspicuous growth rings. Whitish sapwood and whitish to light brown heartwood, tinged with red. Very hard, heavy, strong, and shock resistant. Exceptional wear resistance. Low dimemsional stability and decay resistance. hophornbeam is a diffuse-porous hardwood with inconspicuous wavy growth rings emphasized by white specks along the outer latewood. Pores are small, indistinct and barely discernible to the naked eye. They form small radial clusters or diagonal strings, occasionally in flame-like patterns. Rays are fine, abundant, 1 - 3 seriate and distinct with a hand lens, often appearing to cover half of the transverse surface area of the wood. The sapwood is creamy-white and relatively wide. Heartwood is light brown to brownish-red. The wood has little figure and based upon its general appearance, it is easily confused with birch Hophornbeam has a specific gravity of 0.70 and weighs about 49 pounds per cubic foot at 12% moisture content, placing it along with flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) as the heaviest of the hardwoods found in the forests of the northeast USA This wood is slow and somewhat difficult to dry because of its density and substantial shrink - it loses almost 20% of its volume as it dries. For best results it should air dry for several months before going into a kiln. It has a great tendency to warp but end checking is only moderate. It does have large movement in service but is very durable on exposure to weather or the soil. Working Characteristics: Hophornbeam is a good bending wood, very flexible, with excellent wear and shock resistance. It holds fasteners extremely well but pre-drilling is essential. A screw driven into even a slightly undersized pilot hole will surely break. The wood glues satisfactorily but its density requires careful control and modern adhesives for best results. Machining is a challenge met only with very sharp cutters, which tend to dull quickly, and serious determination. Interrupted cuts of turning are especially difficult for man and machine. Very light planing cuts are necessary to minimize surface checks and almost any power operation burns the wood. There are no safety hazards in working with hophornbeam unless your blood pressure tends to rise with frustration. Basically this is a wood to avoid unless you have no choice! Common Uses: Works like stone - dulls blades, produces lots of smoke during machining, and always requires pre-drilling for screws and nails. Used for splitting wedges, mallet heads, tool handles, levers, skids, canes, novelties, vehicle parts, dowels, drawer slides, utility furniture, furniture components, and fuel It continues to be used for the center, heavy-use areas of good quality butcher blocks. It is an excellent firewood. General : ironwood is a common name for as many as 70 or 80 species of hard, dense woods found around the world  Eastern hophornbeam is not considered a common commercial timber and the lumber is not likely to be found in any lumberyard.  

Carpinus betulus

Other common names: European Hornbeam Hagebuche, white beech Distribution:  Tree Data: Timber Properties : Color: yellowish white.straight grained but with areas of interlocked grain

Characteristics: very hard, heavy, tough wood, shockproof, splits with difficulty does not splinter, high strength against wear. 

Working Characteristics: Very difficult to work and liable to tear, non durable 

Common Uses: Use: Machine and tool construction, tool grasps, plane soles. May be dyed black to resemble ebony

General :

see Osage-Orange

Also known as buckeye in the United States. Found in Europe, India, China, Japan, and N. America. Very fine texture, often with a spiral grain, white color with occasional light gray streaks. Light weight, low ratings for decay resistance, stiffness, and bending strength. Steam-bends well. Works easily with hand and machine tools but sharp edges essential. Satisfactory screwing, nailing, gluing, and finishing properties. Used for utensils, boxes, basket, food storage containers, handles (including brushes and tennis rackets), turnery, interior trim, and decorative veneers. Sometimes used as a substitute for holly.

See five finger

see Redwood