Other common names: Caloon 
Distribution:  
Tree Data: Medium sized hardwoods with buttressed, straight trunk. Bark grey or brownish slightly longitudinally wrinkled, with brown-coloured pustules in the wrinkles. 
Timber Properties : Heartwood is pale brown to yellow brown with occasional grey tingeing with darker stripeing. Timber exhibits a fine and even texture with an interlocking grain. This produces a ribbon figure on the radial surfaces. Heartwood not durable enough for external use Heartwood pale-brown, sometimes with a greyish tinge, and sometimes with stripes of a darker colour. Sapwood creamy-white.Often interlocked, producing a ribbon figure on the radial surface. Texture moderately fine and even.560-610 kgm-Class 4 - Suitable for use only in continuously dry situations under cover, well ventilated, clear of the ground and fully protected from the weather and other dampness.Untreated sapwood susceptible to lyctid borer attack.Sapwood accepts preservative impregnation. Sapwood Creamy-white.Heartwood Pale straw colour, with grey streaks.Moderately fine and uniform, straight grain, soft to cut.. 
Working Characteristics: Brown Quandong is easy to work, glues well and cuts cleanly. It holds nails and screws well, and dresses to a fine finish. It accepts staining, polish and paint readily. Low durability. Should be treated for use above ground externally. 610kg/cu.m  
Common Uses: It's predominate uses include veneers, joinery, plywood, and furniture. Other uses include flooring, turnery, mouldings, and general building framing.Internal lining, Finishing material, joinery, veneer 
General : 

red brown - medium – 512 kg m-3 Utility interior carpentry furniture Trade and local names: quaruba, tin-tin Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America and tropical South America. eneral. Heartwood basically red (pinkish brown). Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour. Basic specific gravity 0.33–0.5 g/cm³.  

A tree is found in Venezuela, Guianas and in the Amazonian basin.  Its wood used in is compensated, wainscotings, linings, tilted, mobile, boxes, esquadrias, finishings of interior, etc.  600 kg  good durability

see Pau Marfim

see Birch, Yellow

see Pine, Eastern White

Other common names: Brauna (Brazil) 
Distribution: Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, southern Brazil 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Very durable Heartwood is light red when first cut, darkening to a beautiful brick red after exposure, sometimes marked with dark brown almost black stripes. Fine textured and extremely hard. 1000 kg cum 
Working Characteristics: Difficult to work with hand tools. Rather poor in-use stability with a tendency to check. Very high tannin content. 
Common Uses:  
General : 

Other common names:  
Distribution:  
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Queensland Maple heartwood is pink to brownish pink with a sapwood which is white to pale grey. Grain is fairly interlocked with a medium to even texture producing varied figure. Heartwood is moderately durable and sapwood is not susceptible to lyctid attack. Sapwood readily accepts preservative treatment, while heartwood does not. It should be used only in a continuous dry situation, away from damp and ground contact problems. 580 kg/cu.m to 640 kg/cu.m 
Working Characteristics: It is easy to work, nail, and glue. However, this timber does tend to buckle at times and is therefore unsuitable for bending. Accepts paint, polish and stain reasonably well. Machines and turns well to a smooth surface. 
Common Uses: Internal lining, Finishing material, joinery, veneer Queensland maple is an outstanding furniture timber that is also used in veneers, paneling, joinery, boat building, and in implement and instrument related work. 
General :

see messmate, Gympie

Other common names: oriental wood, walnut bean, Australian walnut, Australian laurel. Distribution: Grows in northern Queensland. Tree Data:  Timber Properties : Straight to wavy grained with a fine, even texture. Narrow, pinkish sapwood and pinkish brown to dark brown heartwood, often with pinkish, gray-green, or blackish streaks. Resembles European walnut. Moderately heavy and hard with medium bending strength, high crushing strength, low stiffness, low steam bending, medium shock resistance, medium movement in service, and low to medium decay resistance. Considerably stronger than most true walnuts. Working Characteristics: Difficult to work due to severe blunting effect from silica in wood. Carbide-tipped blades highly recommended. Glues satisfactorily and has good screw and nail holding properties. Polishes to an excellent finish. Common Uses: One of the most popular species in Australia for cabinetry, furniture, interior joinery, and paneling. Valued for electrical insulation applications due to its extremely high insulation properties. Also used for flooring, construction, veneers, and various types of decorative work. General :

Other common names: Incienso, balsamo 
Distribution: Argentina, Paraguay, Southern Brazil, with related species native to Northern South America. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Very decay resistant Heartwood color is deep red, sometimes with purple highlights and high natural luster. Spicy scent, a source of balsam used in perfumes. Good in-use stability, but can be difficult to machine due to interlocked grain. 750 – 800 kg cum 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses:  
General : 

Other common names: Commonly called Monkeypod in its native Philippines 
Distribution:  
Tree Data: Chocolate brown and cream in colour, this tree grows quite large, specimens with a girth of 27 feet (9 meters) being quite common. 
Timber Properties :  
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses: Raintree is used for both turnery and furniture manufacture. 
General : Raintrees actually close their leaves during rainfall, thus ensuring the survival of fodder supplies below.

Other common names: English: rambutan Thai: ngoh, phruan Malaysian Aborigine: nert, gente Indonesia and Malaysia: rambutan Cambodia: saaw maaw Vietnam: chom chom, vai tieu Chinese (Cantonese): hooun mo daon; (putonghua): shau tsz 
Distribution: Tropical Old World: probably Malaysia and Indonesia, it is distributed throughout southern China (Yunnan and Hainan), Indo-Chinese region, Malay Archipelago and the Philippines. 
Tree Data:
 Timber Properties : rambutan wood is fairly hard and heavy, and reputed to be resistant to insects but not to fungi, however, trees are usually too small to be valued as timber 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses:  
General :

Other common names: ramin telur, melawis, and lanutan-bagyo. 
Distribution: G rows in Sarawak, Malaysia, and south east Asia. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Straight to mildy interlocked grain and a relatively fine, even texture. Creamy white to pale straw colored heartwood and sapwood - not well differentiated from each other. Moderately heavy and hard with high crushing strength, moderately high bending strength and stiffness, low shock resistance, and poor decay resistance. Exhibits large movement in service. Steam-bends poorly. Disadvantages: Danger of cracking non durable. 
Working Characteristics: Works fairly easily with machine or hand tools but tends to chip out on quartered surfaces and end grain. Glues satisfactorily. Pre-drilling required for screws or nails. Stains, paints, and generally finishes nicely although grain filling may be necessary to achieve a smooth surface. 
Common Uses: Used for furniture, mouldings, interior joinery, office fixtures, toys, carving, dowels, handles, and other turnery, flooring, paneling, plywood, corestock, and decorative veneers. 
General : Often used as a substitute for beech.

see Ramin

Sapwood is white to pale pink and is clearly defined from the heartwood which is pink-brown to red-brown and darkening on exposure. Grain is straight to interlocked. Texture is rather fine and even. 

see Teak, Burmese

Member of the Myrtle family. Two species - Southern and Northern. Becoming rare due to attack by possums.

 see Alder, Common

Tree of 50 to 60 meters height, found in the Amazon region. Its wood is used for bridges, poles, naval construction, etc. 1050 kg cu m. Very durable 

see Beech, American

see Birch, Paper

see Cedar Eastern Red

See Baldcypress

see Elm, Slippery

see Douglas Fir

see Hickory, Shagbark

Aka Mugga, Dark red Structural Difficult to work due to its density and interlocked grain Very durable 1050 kg m-3

see Cedar Eastern Red

See BAGTIKAN:

see Maple, Red

see Mapou

see Albizia

see Oak, Red

see Rosa Peroba

Red to reddish brown Structural, Flooring, Internal lining, Finishing material, joinery Works well, although interlocked grain can require adjustment of cutting angle. Heartwood durable 900 kg m-3

Sassafras

Within the timber industry there are many individual trades and professions. It would appear that in the case of this species, each facet of the industry has adopted its own pet name. To the botanist we refer to Albisia Toona, to the Sawmiller Red Sirus, the cabinet maker orders Acacia Cedar, while a similar tradesman from another area will want Mackay Cedar. Not to be left out in the cold, our friend the timbercutter or axeman, not having colour or grain to identify his quarry knows the tree for its tiny soft looking foliage high in the forest canopy. He calls our tree Feathertop. Few species can claim such popularity in the collective areas of, turnery woodcarving, furniture manufacture, general crafts and commissioned artwork production.  This timber is used very little for stock in hand, however commissioned work in Red Sirus is welcomed.

see Douglas Fir

Other common names:  
Distribution:  
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Pale reddish brown Structural 900 kg m-3 Red Stringybark is only moderately durable (class 3) but is ideal for above ground construction. Termite piping in living red stringy trees is common. Poles with this defect still retain most of their strength and durability for above ground use as rails
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses:  
General : White stringybark SPECIES  GREY BOX (Eucalyptus microcarpa), YELLOW BOX (Eucalyptus melliodora), RED BOX (Eucalyptus polyanthemos) RED STRINGYBARK (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) The box species are all "class one" durability. Consequently they are suitable for use in the ground with a resistance to termites and decay at least equivalent to treated pine Durability of box species will vary somewhat. Red Box is generally the most durable and Yellow Box the least. However, species is less important than the age and speed of growth. Slow grown trees (larger or small suppressed stems from rocky upper slopes will be most durable. Fast, young growth from lower moist sites much less so. 

see Sweetgum

Other common names: California redwood, coast redwood, sempervirens, and Humboldt redwood. 
Distribution: Grows along Pacific coast of United States in California and Oregon. Natural range is restricted to a narrow belt along the coast from Southern Oregon to Monterey County, California, never more than 40 miles from the ocean 
Tree Data: Maximum size 23' x 367', average 5-8' x 225'. 
Timber Properties : Generally straight grained with a fine to coarse texture. Light red to deep reddish brown heartwood and nearly white sapwood. Very prominent growth rings. Light and soft with moderately low bending and crushing strength, low shock resistance, moderate stiffness, poor steam bending, very good decay resistance and good stability in service. The wood is light, soft, moderately strong, fine and straight grained, very easily worked and very durable. 
Working Characteristics: Works easily with hand or machine tools but has some tendency to splinter. Turns well. Nails and screws easily but has poor holding properties. Glues quite satisfactorily. Accepts and holds paints exceptionally well. 
Common Uses: Used mainly for building construction (siding, sash, doors, finish) as well as tanks, silos, fences, decks, outdoor furniture, boxes, crates, novelties, turnery, shakes, and boat building. Used for tanks, flumes, ties, poles, posts and every part of a house from sills to shingles, except floors. 
General : California's best-known and most valuable tree, because of the great height of individual trees, the enormous yield per acre, and the quality of its wood

see Redwood

see Redwood

see Teak, Rhodesian

Sapwood is well-defined from the heartwood, which is dark red-brown or deep blood red, with bands of darker, almost black streaks. Grain is interlocked or occasionally straight. Texture is moderately coarse to fairly fine and even. 

Sapwood is light coloured and sharply defined in Cotylelobium but not generally so in Vatica. Heartwood is pale yellow when fresh and turning to deep red-brown on exposure in Cotylelobium and brown with a green tinge in Vatica. Grain is straight or only slightly interlocked. Texture is fine and even. Suitable for heavy construction, posts, beams, piling, bridges, mining timber, heavy-duty flooring, boat construction, transmission posts, door and window frames and railway sleepers. The lighter varieties are suitable for turnery, cabinet works, high grade joinery, interior fittings and sliced veneer. see Tupelo, Black

Other common names: Rewarewa or New Zealand Honeysuckle 
Distribution: Throughout the North Isalnd and into the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. 
Tree Data:  A tall tree up to 30m with a trunk up to 1m diameter. Has leathery leaves with long serrated edges. Flowers from October to November - dark red flower spikes with 15 - 80 sweet smelling flowers.  Fruit has woody capsule with winged seeds inside.
Timber Properties : The dry sapwood of Rewa Rewa is silvery pinkish brown while the heartwood is darker reddish to purplish brown with prominate medullary rays. Due to these rays the timber is attractive and easy to identify. This specie is very difficult to kiln or air dry due to it's tendancies to collapse. Twenty five mm timber can take up to nine months to air dry. 740 kg/m3 Due to large shrinkage range attributed to huge medullary rays. Rewa Rewa is classed as very unstable non durable 
Working Characteristics: Rewa Rewa is notorious for tangential shrinkage. It is a tough and hardwearing timber which machines well. The sapwood is subject to powder-post beetle attack, which is overcome by treatment with boron salts. 
Common Uses: Rewa Rewa is used in woodturning, inlaying and furniture along with craft works. In the past, uses included sleepers, swingle trees, brake blocks and decorative flooring including parquetry 
General :

see Teak, Rhodesian

see Oak, White

Other common names: Red Pine 
Distribution: Rimu is a native of New Zealand. 
Tree Data: A large forest canopy tree reaching up to 60 metres tall and the most recognised and preferred timber of New Zealanders. 
Timber Properties : The heartwood is reddish brown to yellow with irregular dark streaks and the sapwood is a uniform pale brown sometimes with interesting grain patterns. Heart Rimu is highly paticularly sought after as a high quality furniture timber. 595 kg/m3 Heartwood Durable above ground Sapwood Non durable Very prone to shrinkage and distortion 
Working Characteristics: The timber machines reasonably well, and is easily sanded to a very smooth finish.  
Common Uses: It is one of the traditional timbers used in the manufacture of high quality furniture. 
General :

see Rosewood, Brazilian

Other common names:  
Distribution: Central America - South America 
Tree Data: Roble is a handsome canopy tree, reaching a height of 90 feet in the natural rainforest, with a trunk diameter of about 2 feet and a bole of merchantable length of 35 to 50 feet.   
Timber Properties : Roble sapwood is pale rose in color, while the heartwood color ranges from golden brown to dark chestnut brown. It has medium luster and texture, and straight to closely interlocked grain. Grey-beige with important veining950 KG/M3 
Working Characteristics: Roble slices easily for veneer, has excellent machining and turning qualities, glues, finishes, and polishes well, and responds well to hand tools. Its strength is similar to teak. 
Common Uses: Decoratives panels - Moulding - Furniture - Music instrument Roble is used extensively for boat building, and is excellent for fine furniture and cabinetry, fine decorative and figured veneer, flooring, and interior trim, millwork, and balusters 
General : Because of the beauty of its wood, roble is becoming increasingly rare outside of parks and reserves.

see Elm, Rock

see Maple, Hard

Also known as red peroba, pink peroba, palo rosa, amargosa. Grows in southeastern areas of Brazil. Fine textured, straight to irregular grain, medium luster, with rose-red heartwood and yellowish sapwood. Hard, heavy, very dense wood with moderate to high bending strength, moderate shock resistance, low stiffness, and durable heartwood. Works easily when grain is straight, although a reduced cutter angle is recommended. Pre-drilling required for screwing and nailing. Glues easily and responds well to stains and polish finishes. Used for joinery, furniture, flooring, ship building, general construction, paneling, turnery, decorative veneers, and acid vats.

see Teak, Burmese

see Rosewood, Brazilian

see Bubinga

see Rosewood, Brazilian

Bolivia & BrazilBolivian Rosewood is a beautiful, rosewood like wood with black striping on top of a dark brown background. Bolivian Rosewood offers a wide range of colors from medium to light browns through to almost black brown purplish tones, on top of which there is frequent black striping. Bolivian Rosewood undergoes a substantial degree of color change as the wood lightens over time and more so in direct sunlight from the darker brown tones to lighter gold/tan tones with a muting the fresh milled color variation.

see Rosewood, Indian

Other common names: rosewood, Rio or Bahia rosewood, jacaranda, pianowood, caviuna, obuina, and, palisander 
Distribution: Grows in Brazil. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Mostly straight grained with coarse texture, large open pores, and oil, gritty feel. Variegated brown to violet-colored heartwood with irregular black streaks, well demarcated from cream-colored sapwood. Hard and heavy, moderate to high strength and shock resistance, low stiffness, good steam bending, good stability in service, and excellent decay resistance. Far harder than any commercial United States hardwood species used for furniture or veneer manufacture. 
Working Characteristics: Works OK but has severe blunting effect on cutting edges. Pre-drilling recommended for screws and nails. Glues satisfactorily if precautions taken for oily surfaces (consider using epoxy resins). Finishes to an exceedingly smooth, highly polished surface. 
Common Uses: Esteemed for centuries as one of the finest woods in the world for high-class furniture, cabinetry, and paneling. Also excellent for knife handles, brush backs, bowls, and other turned items. Other uses include piano cases, musical instrument fingerboards, billiard tables, levels, marquetry, and carving. 
General : One of the best known woods of Brazil and known to commerce for over 300 years. In addition to beautiful figure and color, the wood has a fragrant odor. Used for cutlery handles, cabinets, furniture, turnery, and inlay work; very popular at one time as veneer for square pianos.. 

Belize / MexicoCaribbean Rosewood is one of the world’s most beautiful woods with a rosewood look that offers unique coloration and graining. Caribbean Rosewood provides an extreme range of color variability. This wood ranges from cream colored, flame type, swirls on through to gold/orange highlights on top of a medium brown background with black striping. Caribbean Rosewood exhibits a medium degree of color change, with the muting of the color variation and some darkening over time

see Rosewood, Indian

Pinkish brown, with darker streaksBelize and GuatemalaHonduran Rosewood is a rich looking true rosewood that is extremely hard. Rich brownish tones with lighter mineral runsHonduran Rosewood, over time changes from a rich purplish burgundy and then lightens to brownish color tones.

Also known as East Indian rosewood, Bombay rosewood, bombay blackwood, shisham, sitsal, malabar, sissoo, biti, ervadi, and kalaruk. Grows in southern India. Commonly interlocked grain with a uniform, moderately coarse texture. Purple-brown heartwood with attractive dark streaks and yellowish white sapwood, often with a purple tinge. Heavy, hard, and dense with high bending and crushing strengths, medium shock resistance, good stability and steam bending, and very durable heartwood. Difficult to work due to calcareous deposits - dulls cutting edges. Holds screws and nails well and glues satisfactorily. Finishes nicely although filling recommended. Primarily used for decorative and ornamental purposes including furniture, cabinetry, paneling, and turnery. Also used for musical and mathematical instruments, brush backs, inlay, sculpture, boat construction, hammer heads, and decorative flooring.

see Cocobolo

see Rosewood, Brazilian

Tree of 10 the 20 meters of height, gift in the Amazon regions, Center-West, Northeast and Southeast. Its wood is used for civil construction and naval, pisos, it would marcenaria fine, mobile fine and decoration, handles of tools and places setting, sculptures, tilted, etc. 870 kg durable

see Cherry, Black

West Indies, Florida

Pale brown sapwood and golden yellow or pale reddish brown heartwood which often has dark coloured streaks, variable grain and moderately fine texture.

A heavy wood which gives a silky finish

Used for furniture and interior fittings

Quite durable

see Yellow Poplar

see Teak, Burmese

see PurpleHeart

closely related to Lauans and Meranti

Dark red brown heartwood and will show striped figuring when quarter sawn

Other common names: Saligna, Blue Gum Distribution: Saligna originates in Australia, and has been well established in New Zealand for many years.  The species grows throughout northern New Zealand, but there are no specific Saligna forests in New Zealand. However, there have been some commercial plantings recently and future availability is assured. Tree Data:  Timber Properties : The timber machines reasonably well, but does blunt planer knives quickly. It glues well, and accepts stains easily and evenly.The timber needs to be quarter sawn to minimise distortion during drying, so most good quality boards will have straight grain on the face. 660 kg/m3 Heartwood Durable above ground Sapwood Non durable Working Characteristics:  Common Uses: Furniture, outdoor furniture, flooring, and decking. General : Supply is limited, but will improve as milling technology advances and plantings mature to millable size. 

Other common names: Salu Salu, Pacific Rimu 
Distribution: The species grow in the Fiji Islands 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : 440 kg/m3 Non durable
Working Characteristics: The timber machines well and is commonly used as a substitute for sap Rimu 
Common Uses: Interior joinery, mouldings, and furniture manufacture. 
General :

Other common names: Black wattle, hickory wattle (both species), sally wattle (A. mangium only). A lesser species, A. crassicarpa, is also known as brown salwood 
Distribution: Occurs from northern New South Wales along the eastern coast of Queensland to Cape York, and also in the coastal areas of the Northern Territory.
Tree Data: Medium sized hardwoods with flanged buttresses at the base, attaining 30 metres in height and 1 metre diameter on favourable sites. Bark is thin, brown, hard and fissured. 
Timber Properties : Heartwood varies from light brown to brown, often streaked with darker markings. Sapwood creamy-white to pale brown.Grain variable, texture coarse but rather even.690-800 kilograms per cubic metre Class 3 - Moderately resistant to decay when fully exposed to the weather, clear of the ground and well drained with free air circulation. Not recommended for in-ground use.Untreated sapwood susceptible to lyctid borer attack.Sapwood accepts preservative impregnation.Can be satisfactorily dried using conventional air and kiln seasoning methods. Sapwood Creamy-white, distinct from heartwood.Heartwood Light-brown through to chestnut, occasionally with darker streaks.Texture Medium to coarse. Straight grain. Lustrous. 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses:  
General :. 

Other common names: jacareuba, Alfaro Distribution:  
Tree Data: Santa Maria is a large rainforest canopy tree, reaching heights of up to 150 feet in the natural rainforest, with trunk diameters up to 6 feet, and a clear cylindrical bole up to 65 feet. 
Timber Properties : Santa Maria is pinkish or reddish brown, with fine, dark veins of color. It has a uniform medium texture, with straight to interlocking grain and medium luster. Santa Maria responds well to polishing, glues well, and accepts finishes well. Its strength is similar to teak. 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses: Santa Maria is used in boat building, beautiful furniture, cabinetry, decorative and figured veneer, excellent flooring, joinery, parquet, and millwork.  
General : Exploited for the beauty of its wood, Santa Maria is now listed as occasional to rare, even in parks and preserves.  

Wide range in United States but commercial production is largely from lower Mississippi Valley. Its color is pinkish white often blued by sap stains.Plain but not very strong, usually watery.The interlocking grain which makes it strong and stiff, moderately heavy and closed-grained.This is a preferred species for furniture, cabinetry, paneling, doors, and interior trim.Readily available as veneer or lumber.Sap Gum is the sapwood portion of the Gum tree. The heartwood is referred to as Red Gum.

Other common names: scented mahogany, aboudirko, penkwa, muyovu, libuyu, and sapele mahogany. 
Distribution: Grows in west, central, and east Africa. Sapele is a native to the rain forests of West Africa, from the Ivory Coast to the Cameroons, and eastward through Zaire to Uganda. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Interlocked, sometimes wavy grain producing a distinctive roe figure on quartered surfaces. Medium texture, high luster, pale yellow sapwood and light red to dark reddish brown heartwood. Medium weight, bending strength, crushing strength, shock resistance, decay resistance, and movement in service. Low stiffness and steam bending rating. The sapwood of Sapele is whitish to pale yellow in colour. The heartwood is medium to fairly dark reddish brown or purplish brown. It has a moderately fine grain which is sometimes interlocked. The heartwood is moderatley durable. The sapwood is liable to powder post beetle (lyctus specie) attack. The heartwood is resistant to pressure treatment and waterborne preservative while the sapwood is moderately resistant. 749 kg/m3 Heartwood is moderately durable 
Working Characteristics: Works easily enough although surface may tear when planing due to interlocked grain. Glues, screws, and nails satisfactorily. Responds well to stains and finishes, particularly if grain is filled. 
Common Uses: Used for many of the same applications as true mahogany: furniture, cabinetry, decorative veneers, paneling, flooring, interior and exterior joinery, window and door frames, doors, staircases, boat and vehicle construction, and piano cases 
General : Sapele is characterised by a marked regular stripe which is particularly pronounced on quarter sawn surfaces. It has no distinctive taste but has a Cedar-like scent when freshly milled. The timber generally dries fairly rapidly. However, it has a marked tendancy to warp and its drying properties may vary. It requires careful stacking and care should also be taken in kiln drying to avoid warp and degradation.

see Sapele

see Sweetgum

Other common names: red sassafras, saxifrax, and cinnamon wood. 
Distribution: Grows in Ontario and eastern half of United States. Found native from Maine, Ontario and Michigan south through eastern Kansas and Oklahoma to Texas and Florida. 
Tree Data: very interesting tree of the Eastern hardwood forests. Occasionally reaches 90' in height and 6' in diameter. The buds, leaves, bark and wood are aromatic. Oil of sassafras is distilled from the roots and their bark. 
Timber Properties : Straight, coarse grained with coarse texture and medium luster. Yellowish white sapwood and pale brown heartwood, deepening to dull orange-brown with exposure. Resembles black ash. Somewhat light, soft, brittle, and relatively weak, with good decay resistance and dimensional stability in use. The wood is ring-porous, moderately soft and very durable, resembling that of chestnut. 
Working Characteristics: Works well with machine or hand tools. Pre-drilling recommended for screws and nails. Glues, stains, and finishes satisfactorily. 
Common Uses: Used for inexpensive furniture, boxes, crates, small boats, fenceposts (due to decay resistance), rails, cooperage, and general millwork. 
General : Most sassafras trees are too small to yield significant quantities of lumber.

see Sweetgum

Other common names: red Eungella gum, white Eungella gum, watergum (both) 
Distribution: The trees grow to large sizes in north Queensland. Trunk somewhat buttressed, and bark is flaky on both species. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Eungella satinash heartwood pink to red-brown. White Eungella satinash heartwood pale grey to yellow-brown. Sapwood greyish-yellow.Generally straight, short and open grained. Often somewhat wavy.Red Eungella satinash 785 kgm-3 and white Eungella satinash 755 m3 at 12 % moisture content; approximately 1.3 m3 of seasoned sawn timber per tonne.Class 3 - Moderately resistant to decay when fully exposed to the weather, clear of the ground and well drained with free air circulation.Untreated sapwood susceptible to lyctid borer attack.apwood readily accepts preservative impregnation. Sapwood Greyish-yellow.Heartwood Red-brown (R.E.S.) and yellow-brown (W.E.S.).Fine to medium and uniform, grain slightly interlocked. 
Working Characteristics: Hard to work. 
Common Uses:  
General : 

Other common names: East Indian satinwood, burutu, bhera, behra, and mutirai 
Distribution: Grows in Sri Lanka and southern India. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Satiny luster, fine, very even texture and interlocked grain, often wavy or roey, producing narrow ribbon figure. Beautiful pale yellow to golden yellow heartwood and sapwood. Very hard, heavy wood with high bending and crushing strengths, moderate stiffness, low shock resistance, high decay resistance, and good stability in service. 
Working Characteristics: Fairly difficult to work due to high density - tends to blunt edges and cause tools to chatter unless well supported. Pre-drilling required for nailing or screwing. May be difficult to glue. 
Common Uses: Primarily used for luxury cabinets, fine furniture, and interior joinery. Also an excellent turnery wood, often used for tool handles, brush backs, bobbins, and fancy products. Other uses include paneling, carving, inlay motifs, lines, and bandings, and highly decorative veneer. 
General : 

see Satinwood, Ceylon

See Ayan

see Cedar Eastern Red

(Sawara Cypress) From Japan Attains a height of 180 feet and diameter of 91/2 feet. Wood is soft and light and used for staves. 

Sassafras

see Hickory, Shagbark

see Maple, Red

see Guarea

see Sapele

see Coachwood

Other common names: northern scentless rosewood (S. muelleri), red sycamore (S. glandulosum) 
Distribution:  
Tree Data: A medium sized tree attaining a height of 20 m and a stem diameter of 0.5 m. The trunk is sometimes irregular and angular in cross section but not prominently buttressed. Bark is brown, very scaly, and measures, 6 to 12 mm in thickness. It is shed in small angular pieces 
Timber Properties : Heartwood ranges from red to reddish-brown. Sapwood is sometimes paler in colour but not always distinguishable from the heartwood.Relatively close and uniform in texture; predominantly straight. Similar to rose mahogany (Dysoxylum fraseranum) but without its characteristic odour.625-675 kgm-3 
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses:  
General :

see Elm, European

Sapwood is pale yellow to yellowish brown and distinct from the heartwood, which is reddish dark brown. Grain is straight or shallowly interlocked. Texture is rather fine and even.

see Redwood

From Japan Attains a height of 90 feet and diameter of 7.5 feet. Wood is soft and brittle. Prized for its grain in furniture and cabinet making. 

(Chinaberry Tree) From Japan Attains height of 70 feet and diameter of 36 inches. Grows rapidly. Wood is easily planed and is used for ornamental parts of houses and in cabinet making. Much used as a street tree in Japan.

see Blackwood, African

Sapwood is not well-defined from the heartwood, which is pale yellow to yellow-brown. Grain is straight or deeply interlocked. Texture is fine and even 

See BAGTIKAN:

see Sugar Pine

Called Ovankol, Amazakoue, amazoue, Ehie, Mozambique from Western Equatorial Africa, colour from light yellowish brown to dark grey brown, occasionally figured West & Central AfricaShedua/Mutenye is a beautiful wood with tannish brown background with fine black striping. Shedua/Mutenye has a wide range of color variability from tan pieces through to dark, almost black pieces. Shedua/Mutenye will darken over time from a golden brown to a darker brown under the black striping.

see Hickory, Shagbark

Other common names: Black She-oak or Bull-oak 
Distribution:  
Tree Data: The trees are endowed with a tough corky, corrugated bark, ideal as a protective shield from the abrasive, sand laden coastal winds.

The trees have two distinct forms, either male or female (dioecious). The male tree has long reddish flowers at the ends of its branchlets, which pollinate the rusty red, globular flowers on the female tree. The female's flowers are designed to hang well out to catch the wind born pollen grains that wafts pass from the nearby male. The production of pollen can be so prolific that they often produce a reddish carpet of pollen under the trees. The fruit resembles brown cones with valves (look like little beaks) opening to produce shiny black seeds. The cones can be assisted to release the seed, by selecting ones that have closed valves, and storing them in a paper bag for a few weeks, until the beaks open to release the seed. 
Timber Properties :  
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses: The craft wood potential of the hard, beautifully grained, reddish timber was recognised by early settlers. Its attributes ensured an export market to the mother country. Here it was treated as a prized wood, only to be used sparingly on highly prized projects. Small artefacts such as document boxes or inlaid features in fine quality furniture were crafted from this imported She-oak. 
General : The She-oak family (Casuarinacece) is a highly evolved family and is closely related to no other. They have achieved specialisation in isolated conditions such as exposed, sandy coastal foreshores, riverbanks, dry grassy woodlands, desolate rocky sites or swampy riparian flats. She-oak was also noted for its firewood property of burning very hot, leaving a pure white ash bed. This white ash proved ideal as a sheet whitener, prior to commercial whiteners.

Other common names: (Basswood or Linden) 
Distribution: From Japan 
Tree Data: Attains a height of 60 feet. 
Timber Properties : Wood is soft  
Working Characteristics:  
Common Uses: matches. The fibrous inner bark is a substitute for hemp 
General :  

see Western Red Cedar

Ash) From Japan Attains height of 60 feet and diameter of 34 inches. Wood is strong and elastic and is used in cabinet making and carpentry and as a substitute for Zelkowa

Fir From Japan Height of 62 feet and diameter of 26 inches. Wood used for buildings, inferior furniture, chests and boxes. 

White Birch From Japan Attains height of 90 feet and diameter of 30 inches. Wood is compact and hard, suited for turning and carving. Bark yields an oil used in tanning. 

(White Oak) From Japan An evergreen oak. Attains a height of 90 feet and diameter of 8 feet. Wood is hard, tough and elastic and used for wheels, sporting goods, oars, rifle stocks. 

see Rosewood, Indian

see Southern Yellow Pine

see Albizia

Bumpy Ash & Cudgerie, also known as Northern and Southern Silver Ash.Heartwood varies from pale yellow to silver white with no noticeable difference between it and the sapwood. This is creamy white to pale yellow. Silver ash has an open straight grain with a medium to uniform texture. Structural, Flooring, Internal lining, Finishing material, joinery, veneer Silver ash is used in furniture, veneers, cooperage, boat building, plywood, laminated beams and bench-tops, joinery, flooring, turnery and linings. Silver Ash is easy to work, and bends, turns and glues well. This timber works easily to a smooth finish which readily accepts stains, polish and paint. No difficulties have shown with standard fixings and fasteners. Silver ash is moderately resistant to decay for above ground exposed work if well drained and ventilated. Sapwood can be preservative treated while heartwood will not accept treatment. 670 kg/cu.m

Other common names: Silver Beech, Southland Beech 
Distribution: Silver Beech is a native of New Zealand. The species grows over a wide area from the central North Island down to Stewart Island. The major forest areas are in Southland and the west coast of the South Island. 
Tree Data:  
Timber Properties : Silver Beech is graded to clear appearance grades, grades suitable for remanufacture, and knotty grades. There is no grade differentiation between sapwood and heartwood. The heartwood varies in colour from white to a salmon pink, while the sapwood is white in colour. 585 kg/m3  Non durable 
Working Characteristics: The timber machines very well, and is one of the traditional timbers used in the manufacture of high quality furniture. 
Common Uses: :Furniture, dowel manufacture, ro manufacture, brush manufacture, bed slats. 
General : Silver Beech cannot be exported without a licence

see Birch, Yellow    see Birch, European    see Birch, Paper

Western White Pine

Other common names: blue fig, blueberry ash, blue quandong, white quandong, cooloon 
Distribution:  
Tree Data: A tall tree attaining height of 35 m and a stem diameter up to 2 m. The stem is prominently buttressed at the base and covered with a grey, smooth, slightly wrinkled bark. The older leaves turn bright red before being shed and this is a distinctive species recognition feature in the forest. 
Timber Properties : The heartwood is genera