Wood Encyclopedia

Search and identify wood species from around the world — with origin, Janka hardness, grain and color, working properties, common uses, and how to tell them apart.

Blackbutt

Blackbutt

A dense, pale golden-brown Australian eucalypt hardwood with fine even grain — a workhorse structural, flooring, and decking timber prized for strength and bushfire resistance.

Hardwood
Ramin

Ramin

Pale, fine-textured Southeast Asian hardwood once ubiquitous in mouldings and picture frames; now CITES-restricted from peat-swamp overharvest.

Hardwood
Linden

Linden

A pale, feather-light hardwood with fine straight grain and almost no figure — the traditional wood of European carvers and a top choice for detailed relief work.

Hardwood
Elm

Elm

A tough, interlocked-grained hardwood in warm golden-tan to pale brown — famous for resisting splitting and for its exceptional durability underwater.

Hardwood
Mango Wood

Mango Wood

A golden-brown tropical hardwood reclaimed from spent fruit orchards — light-tan with dark streaks, often figured, prized as a sustainable furniture wood.

Tropical & Exotic
Ziricote

Ziricote

A dense Central American hardwood famous for dramatic "spider-web" figure — grayish to medium brown with fine black streaking and high natural luster.

Tropical & Exotic
Iroko

Iroko

West Africa's durable golden-brown hardwood — often called African teak — prized for outdoor joinery, boatwork and worktops for its stability and decay resistance.

Tropical & Exotic
Pau d'arco

Pau d'arco

Extremely dense, reddish- to orange-brown South American hardwood — the classic ipe/lapacho decking and outdoor timber, prized for hardness and rot resistance.

Tropical & Exotic
African Mahogany

African Mahogany

The mainstream mahogany substitute: an open-grained West African hardwood with warm reddish-brown color and a ribbon-striped interlocked figure.

Tropical & Exotic
Afzelia

Afzelia

Dense, richly reddish-brown West African hardwood prized for its outstanding durability, dimensional stability, and use in flooring and joinery.

Tropical & Exotic
Rosewood

Rosewood

The classic dark tropical hardwood: dense, oily, and fragrant, with rich chocolate-to-purple-brown heartwood and fine interlocked grain prized for fine furniture and instruments.

Tropical & Exotic
Brazilian Rosewood

Brazilian Rosewood

Legendary CITES-listed tropical hardwood with deep reddish-brown, high-contrast striped heartwood — the classic tonewood for fine guitars and heirloom furniture.

Tropical & Exotic
Teak

Teak

Golden-brown tropical hardwood famous for its natural oils, exceptional weather resistance, and dimensional stability — the classic wood for boats and outdoor furniture.

Tropical & Exotic