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.

Pacific Madrone

Pacific Madrone

A dense, warm-toned Pacific Coast hardwood prized for wild curly and burl figure, but notorious for moving and warping as it dries.

Hardwood
Red Alder

Red Alder

The Pacific Northwest's workhorse softwood-of-a-hardwood: pale, even-textured, and famous for the warm orange blush it takes on when freshly cut.

Hardwood
Douglas Fir

Douglas Fir

A strong, stiff Pacific Northwest softwood — cream to tan with bold growth rings and reddish bands — the backbone of North American structural timber.

Softwood
Australian Mangrove

Australian Mangrove

A dense, fine-grained tropical mangrove hardwood from Australia and the Pacific — slow-grown, tightly ringed, and traditionally cut for pilings, poles, and fuel.

Tropical & Exotic
Grand Fir

Grand Fir

A light, soft, pale Pacific Northwest true fir with fine even grain and low resin — an economical framing and utility softwood, mild-working but not decay-resistant.

Softwood
Cannonball Mangrove

Cannonball Mangrove

A mahogany-family mangrove hardwood from Indo-Pacific tidal forests — pale tan sapwood, warm brown heartwood, and moderate, evenly spaced growth rings.

Tropical & Exotic
Strawberry Tree

Strawberry Tree

A dense, fine-grained Mediterranean hardwood in light tan with pinkish tones — a small-diameter turner's and charcoal wood, hard and heavy but rarely milled.

Hardwood
Sweet Chestnut

Sweet Chestnut

A pale-tan, oak-like European hardwood — ring-porous, light, and naturally durable — long used for beams, fencing, coopering, and rustic furniture.

Hardwood
Goupia

Goupia

A dense, durable golden-brown to olive hardwood of the northern Amazon, prized for heavy exterior construction, decking, and marine work.

Hardwood
Azobe (Ekki)

Azobe (Ekki)

Extremely heavy, dark chocolate-brown West African ironwood valued for outstanding durability in marine piling, decking, and heavy hydraulic construction.

Tropical & Exotic
Mangrove

Mangrove

A very dense, hard tropical wood from the Southeast Asian stilt-root mangrove — tan to light brown, fine and heavy, famed as charcoal and marine poles.

Tropical & Exotic
Okoumé

Okoumé

A light, soft, golden-tan Central African hardwood with fine even grain — the classic marine-plywood and core-veneer wood, low in weight and easy to peel.

Tropical & Exotic