Goncalo Alves ranges in color from light golden-brown to reddish-brown with blackish-brown streaks, which gives it the familiar name of tigerwood. It I is richly mottled and similar in appearance rosewood. A hard, heavy wood, it has a medium to fine texture and tight, irregular, interlocked grain with alternating layers of hard and soft wood. Goncalo Alves is very durable and will take a glass-like finish.

Formal Name: Astronium graveolens

Other Names:

Tigerwood

Santos Mahogany ranges from light orange-brown tones to a dark reddish-brown in color. The white sapwood is sharply demarcated from the heartwood. It has a fine, even texture and tight grain that is quite often interlocked. It is an extremely dense hardwood that is a popular wood for both its durability and beauty, with a surface that can have a medium to high luster.

Formal Name: Myroxylon balsamum

Other Names:

Balsamo, Cabriuva Vermelha, Cedro Chino, Chirraca, Estoraque, Incienso, Nabal, Navo, Palo de Balsamo, Quina, Sandalo, Tache, Tolu

Granadillo varies somewhat in color, and can be found in red, black and brown variations. The black is much like Morado — a dark brown, usually distinctly striped wood with a straight grain. The red is much like Honduras Rosewood, with a reddish-brown cast and a figured grain, with a fine to medium texture. The sapwood is very pale — almost white. The heartwood is a mix of brilliant colors ranging from deep orange-red with black striping or mottling and streaks that ages to beautiful markings of red, black, purple, yellow and orange when exposed to air. It is very hard, heavy and dense with tight, straight interlocked grain and low luster. This oily wood is slightly pungent and fragrant when worked.

Formal Name: Platymiscium spp.

Other Names:

Macacauba, Coyote, Guayacan, Cocobolo, Nicaraguan Rosewood

Sapele heartwood is medium to dark-reddish brown with a medium texture, high-luster, pale yellow sapwood. Sapele is very similar to African mahogany, with a fine, interlocked grain. It may also yield a wavy grain that produces a distinctive roe figure on quartered surfaces.

Formal Name: Entandrophragma Cylindricum

Honduras Rosewood has a yellow sapwood with an appearance distinctly different from the heartwood. The pinkish-brown to purple-brown tones of the heartwood appear in alternating dark and light streaks with black markings, creating a very attractive figure. The wood ranges from fine to medium in texture and usually presents a straight grain, although it is occasionally wavy, presenting a decorative figure.

Shedua sapwood is very pale with clear demarcations. A variety of colors can be found in the heartwood that includes pink, vivid red, or red-brown with purple veining. On exposure, the veining becomes less conspicuous, and the deep colors fade to yellow or medium brown with a reddish tint. Shedua has a fine, even texture with a straight or interlocked grain. Shedua from the Gabon area often has a wavy grain, and is sometimes highly figured, producing a decorative appearance when flat- and quarter-sawn.

Formal Name: Guibourtia ehie

Other Names:

Olive Walnut and African Walnut

Ipe is an extremely dense tropical hardwood with excellent durability and performance characteristics, and strength similar to teak (two to three times harder than oak). The sapwood is yellowish-white to whitish in color, becoming light orange when dry. The heartwood is olive-brown in color, with lighter or darker streaks. The grain ranges from straight to very irregular and intercrossed in narrow bands, with a fine-to-medium texture and low luster. The figure consists of fine stripes in the radial surface, and the pores are primarily solitary and inconspicuous

Formal Name: Tabebuia Serratifolia

Other Names:

Ironwood, Brazilian Walnut, Cortez, Lapacho Negro, Pau Lope

An African hardwood which resembles plain Sapele in appearance the Sipo sapwood is light brown in color. The heartwood is pinkish-brown when first cut, and darkens to a rich red or purple-brown with exposure. The sapwood is reported to be up to 2 inches (0.50 cm) wide and clearly demarcated from the heartwood. The attractive grain is usually broadly interlocked, producing a ribbon figure or a wide, often irregular stripe on quarter-sawn surfaces.

Formal Name: Entandrophragma utile

Other Names:

Kalungi, Liboyo, Mufumbi, Okeong, Utile

Iroko is a medium density wood with white sapwood that is sharply demarcated from the heartwood. The heartwood is golden-orange to brown in color and darkens with age. The wood can at times be colored with yellow bands of soft tissue that form a zigzag pattern on all surfaces, plus darker colored surrounding materials are usually present. The wood has a medium to moderately coarse texture with a grain that is typically interlocked or crossed.

Formal Name: Chlorophora excelsa

Other Names:

African Teak, Kambala, Chen d’Afrique, Odum, African Oak

The heartwood of Spanish Cedar ranges in color from pinkish- to reddish-brown, when first cut. The color darkens as it ages to a dark reddish-brown, and sometimes displays a purplish tinge. The sapwood ranges in tones from white to pinkish-white. The grain is prominent and usually straight, but sometimes appears interlocked. The wood texture ranges from fine and uniform to coarse and uneven, with a medium luster. Spanish Cedar produces a distinctive odor and is often oily on the surface.

Formal Name: Cedrela odorata

Other Names:

South American Cedar, Brazilian Cedar, Cigar-box Cedar