Black Limba is a close, straight-grained timber that can sometimes have interlocked or wavy grain that produces excellent figure. It has a moderately coarse texture and open pores that require filling for a smooth surface. The color has varying degrees of brown to black, with a tinge of orange streaking. The heartwood may have grey-black streaks.

Formal Name: Terminalia superba

Other Names:

Korina, Ofram, Limba, Akom, Frake and Afara

Obeche is creamy-white to pale straw color with no demarcation between the sapwood and heartwood. It is a light wood with a moderately fine and even texture. In large logs, wood from the center of the log is inclined to be brittle (brittleheart). The grain is usually interlocked, which provides a faint stripe on quarter-sawn wood.

Formal Name: Triplochiton scleroxylon

Other Names:

Wawa, Arere, Ayous, Samba

African mahogany is pink when first cut. Over time, it darkens to a reddish-brown, with streaks of pale, golden brown. The sapwood is yellowish-brown in color, and is not always distinctly demarcated from the heartwood. The grain is usually interlocked, giving the wood a distinctive fine grain. The texture is even, and ranges from medium to coarse, but even, with a lustrous surface.

Formal Name: Eucalyptus Grandis

Other Names:

African Mahogany

The sapwood of bloodwood is clearly demarcated and yellowish in color. The heartwood varies in color from red with a golden luster, to a deep, rich reddish-brown. The grain ranges from straight to slightly interlocked and wavy. It is fine textured and enhanced by a satiny appearance.

Formal Name: Brosimum rubescens

Other Names:

Satine, Satinwood, Satine Rouge, Satine Rubane

The heartwood is salmon pink to pale pinkish-brown or reddish-brown. It darkens with exposure to light to a mahogany-like color, and is relatively demarcated from the white to pale grey sapwood. The texture is medium to moderately fine with a slightly interlocked grain. Quarter-sawn surfaces may result in a striped or mottled figure.

Formal Name: Aucoumea klaineana

Other Names:

Gaboon Mahogany, Acoume, Koumi, Ojoume, Okoume, Zouga

Brazilian Ebony is a dense, heavy wood that can be found in a wide range of colors and figures, from solid with even color, to streaked and marble-like figure. The heartwood ranges from olive brown to near black and can have lighter or darker markings that are sharply separated from the sapwood, which is lighter and yellow in appearance. When first cut, the colors and figure are bright and bold. Once exposed to air and light, the brightness of the wood diminishes and takes on a darker, more subtle appearance. Brazilian Ebony is a low-luster wood with an oily appearance. The wood texture is usually fine and uniform, but can range from ultra-fine to medium in texture. The grain that is almost always straight, but also can range from straight to very irregular.

Formal Name: Sartzia tomentosa

Other Names:

Lapacho Ipe, Brazilian Walnut, Ironwood, Irontree and Tajibo

African Padauk has a vividly colored heartwood, that when freshly cut appears deep red. After exposure, it turns to a deep purple-brown with red streaks. The distinct sapwood ranges in color from white to yellowish-brown. It has a lustrous surface and moderately coarse texture. The grain can be straight or interlocked.

Formal Name: Pterocarpus Soyauxii

Other Names:

Camwood, Barwood and Corail

Bubinga sapwood is very pale with clear demarcations. A variety of colors can be found in the heartwood, which 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. Bubinga has a fine, even texture with a straight or interlocked grain. Bubinga 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: African Rosewood, Kevazingo

Other Names:

Lapacho Ipe, Brazilian Walnut, Ironwood, Irontree and Tajibo

Peruvian Walnut presents a rich, dark brown heartwood with a blackish stripe that creates a desirable figure. It has a rather coarse texture, and while usually straight-grained, it is sometimes wavy or curly.

Formal Name: Juglans Neotropica

Other Names:

South American Walnut, Nogal

The heartwood is a pale yellow-brown or “biscuit” color that may range from light tan to deep brown in color. It is usually straight-grained, but cross-grained material can occur in slow growing trees. English Oak displays conspicuous growth rings and has a coarse texture. The sapwood is easily distinguished from the heartwood, though similar in color (lighter). The wood typically has alternating bands of early wood that are large-pored and late wood, which is finer and denser in texture. Like many other oaks, broad rays, distinctive growth rings and a silvery grain produce an attractive figure when quarter-sawn. English “Brown” Oak took on its color from the beefsteak fungus. The color cannot be reproduced with stains, and is considered highly desirable.

Formal Name: Quercus petraea

Other Names:

English Oak, European Oak, French Oak, Yugoslavian Oak, Brown Oak, Brown Oak, Pollard Oak