African Mahogany
Khaya Ivorensis

African Mahogany comes from the dry areas of Central Eastern and Southern Africa. It has a straight, fine, and even grain, and is relatively free of voids and pockets. Its reddish-brown color darkens over time, and displays a reddish sheen when polished. It has excellent workability, and is very durable. It can be used for a substitute of Honduran Mahogany, known as "Geniune Mahogany". Typically used for veneer, plywood, turned items, furniture, boatbuilding and interior trip.

Benin wood, Lagos wood, Acajou, Khaya, Ivory Coast mahogany, Nigerian mahogany, Gold Coast mahogany, Degema, Grand bassam

Bocote
Cordia spp.

Bocote is a beautiful decorative exotic wood growing from Mexico through lower Central America. It is a very good alternative to many of the Rosewood species which are now on CITES restriction, as Bocote is not a Rosewood. It has unique grain patterns from straight lines to swirls to bird's eye figure. Has a yellowish brown body with dramatic dark brown to almost black stripes. Color tends to darken with age. Also, the grain patterning can be quite striking, particularly on flatsawn areas.

Cordia, Canalete, Amapa, Baria, Ziricote, Canaletta, Lauro, Pardo, Lauro negro, trompilla, Friejo

Bubinga
Guibourtia spp.

Bubinga is widely distributed from Nigeria through the Congo. It is a pinkish to reddish-brown wood, with a very finely veined purplish red, interlocked grain pattern. It is a heavy to very heavy, hard to very hard wood and a durable species as it resists well to fungi, dry wood borers and termites, as well as moisture.

African Rosewood, Kevazingo, Essingang

Butternut
Juglans cinerea

Butternut is a straight-grained, coarse-textured wood with medium brown heartwood. It is closely related to Black Walnut. Butternut wood is a considerably lighter color than Black Walnut and is very soft and lightweight. General Workability: As a soft wood, Butternut cuts easily on a scroll saw and is prized for woodcarving.

White Walnut

Canarywood
Centrolobium rebustum

Canarywood is an exotic wood that is yellow to orange in color. It has a fine to coarse texture. Canarywood is straight-grained and typically variegated with light to dark red streaking. It has a medium to high luster. It can be some what variable in density, it is mostly a hard, heavy and strong wood. Works very easily with both hand and power tools and finishes very smoothly.

Porcupine Wood, Arariba, Putumuju

Cocobolo
Dalbergia retusa

Cocobolo is found in Central America and Southern Mexico. Only the heartwood of cocobolo is used; it is usually orange or reddish-brown, often with darker irregular traces weaving through the wood.

Granadillo, Nicarqua, Rosewood

Ebony
Diospyros spp.

Ebony is found in West Africa with a color ranging from a non-uniform to a uniform black. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood.

Tendu, Tuki, Ebans

European Beech
Fagus sylvatica

European Beech sometimes has a dark red heart or darker veining throughout the wood. The grain is straight with a fine and even texture. It is considered heavy, hard & strong, with medium stiffness, high crushing strength, and a medium resistance to shock loads. it shows good resistance to abrasive wear. European Beech is an excellent substitute for Hard Maple.

Buna

Genuine Mahogany
Swietenia macrophylla

Mahogany is an exotic wood that sold in the United States from many different countries. It varies considerably in color. It may be yellowish, reddish, pinkish, or salmon colored when freshly cut, maturing into a deep rich red or brown color with age. Mahogany is ideal for fixtures, cabinetry, fine furniture, interior trim paneling, fancy veneers, musical instruments, boat building, pattern making, turnery, and carving.

Honduran Mahogany, Red Mahogany, Bigleaf mahogany, American mahogany, True Mahogany, Caoba

Osage Orange
Maclura pomifers

Osage Orange is a very hard, heavy, tough, and resilient hardwoodwood. It has a straight grain, with a fine to medium texture and a high natural luster. The heartwood ranges in color from golden to bright yellow and will darken to a medium brown with time. At times, the heartwood may contain red streaks. The sapwood tends to be narrow and light yellow in color. Osage Orange is difficult to work due to its hardness. It holds glue and screws well, but is difficult to nail. It is often used for bows, canes & other fine millworks.

Horse Apple, Hedge Apple, Bois d'arc, Hedge

Padauk
Pterocarpus soyauxii

Padauk is a moderately hard wood that occurs from Nigeria to the Congo with a striking, bright orange to deep red colored heartwood while the sapwood is groyish-white. The texture is coarse and somewhat uneven with an interlocking grain. Padauk is extremely durable and rot resistant.

Camwood, Barwood, Vermillion

Purpleheart
Peltogyne spp.

The majority of this species is found in the Amazon Basin and limited to South America. Purple Heart is purplish or violet in color with a very fine, usually straight grain, but can also be wavy or irregular and has a medium texture with good natural luster. Purple Heart is heavy, averaging about 52 pounds per cubic foot. It is rated as being very durable, and resists both decay and most insect attacks, though it has been reported to be susceptible to attack from marine borers. It is commonly used for inlays/accent pieces, flooring, furniture, boatbuilding, heavy construction, and a variety of specialty wood items.

Amaranth, Violet Wood, Roxinho, Violeta

Rosewood
Daibergia nigra

Found in the Eastern forests of the State of Bahia to Rio de Janeiro. Because of the exploitation over the years it is nowhere abundant. Rosewood is a deep, ruddy brown to purplish-brown color, richly streaked and generally straight grained with black resinous layers. It takes a fine polish but is distinctively hard and heavy. Because of it's resinous nature, it is difficult to work.

Rio Rosewood, Jacaranda, Bahia Rosewood

Sapele
Entandrophragma cylindricum

Sapele Wood has many characteristics that resemble Mahogany, most notably in the color of its medium to fairly dark reddish brown to purple brown heartwood, with a sapwood that is whitish or pale yellow. Sapele is sought after as flooring for it's durability and beautiful graining. Among it's more exotic uses is that in guitar manufacturing.

Acajou Sapele, Sapele Mahogany, Aboudikro, Assi, Muyovu

Spanish Cedar
Cedrela odorata

Spanish Cedar is a stable, durable, soft textured lumber from Central and South America. It's color ranges from a relatively uniform light pinkish brown to reddish brown, which tend to darken with age. It is used for both interior and exterior applications although with its mild texture it does not withstand abuse. Spanish cedar is favored for the making of the hulls of light racing boats, furniture, cabinetwork, doors and windows, interior trim, clothing chests, and the manufacturing of musical string instrument. Because of it's features, this wood is the most important timber for domestic use in tropical America.

Guaruba, Odoralis, South American Cedar, Cedro, Cigar-box Cedar, Acajou Rouge, Cedre Rouge

Teak
Tectona grandis

Teak wood is a dense, close-grained type of hardwood that is native to India, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia. Teak is golden in color with a heartwood that ranges from yellow brown to rich brown. Teak usually has a coarse texture and a smooth, straight grain with streaks of a darker shades, although interlocked grains are occasional. It is used for boat building, yachts, exterior construction, indoor and outdoor furniture, veneer, carvings, frames, and more. Teak doesn't crack, wrap or turn black when in contact with metals and is known for being very durable in respect to decay and insect attack

Burmese Teak, Teka, Kyun, Sagwan

Wenge
Millettia laurentii

Wenge is an exotic wood, native to Central and West Africa. It is a dark brown hardwood, sometimes with lighter streaks or even alternating dark and light stripes. It is a heavy tropical wood, hard to very hard, resistant to termites, borers and fungi. It is therefore not necessary to treat it. Due to its characteristics, Wenge is a versatile species and is commonly used in the making of Veneers, paneling, furniture, turned objects, and musical instruments.

Panga panga, Dikela

Zebrawood
Microberlinia brazzavillensis

Zebrawood is native to West Africa, mostly in Gabon and Cameroon. It's heartwood is a golden-yellow with narrow veining or streaks of dark brown to black which gives quartered surfaces a zebra-stripe appearance. It's grain is interlocked or wavy and produces alternating hard and soft grained material, with a coarse texture and a lustrous surface. Zebrawood is commonly used for tool handles, furniture, boatbuilding, skis and is frequently quartersawn and used as veneer.

Zebrano, Zingana, Allen élé, Okwen