Different types of wood timber by A to Z

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Different types of wood timber by A to Z

Use this page to help you determine to the best alternative if you can't buy Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified timber.

The table below contains the following information for each species of tree:

Common and scientific name*
Country of origin
Common uses
Whether it is threatened with extinction (see key below)
Whether reclaimed timber of that tree species is available
How much it is used in the UK

* listed alphabetically by common name and according to type of tree eg. American Cedar is listed under Cedar American

Key to threat classification
CR	Critically Endangered: a very high risk of extinction in the wild
EN	Endangered: a high risk of extinction in the wild
VU	Vulnerable: at risk of extinction
LR (NT)	Lower risk (near threatened): close to qualifying as Vulnerable

Table of different types of wood timber by A to Z

Click on a letter to track down your tree species.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Abura	Mitragyna ciliata	West Africa	Interior joinery	Minor	-
Afara	Terminalia superba	Africa	Plywood, interior use	Minor	-
Afrormosia	Pericopsis elata	West Africa	Furniture, joinery	Minor	EN; CITES Appx II
Afzelia	Afzelia spp.	West Africa	Top quality exterior joinery	Minor	A. africana VU A. bipindensis VU A. pachyloba VU
Agba	Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum	West Africa	Plywood, furniture	Minor	EN
Alder	Alnus glutinosa	UK, Europe	Minor utility products	Minor	–	Occasionally, as beams
Alstonia	Alstonia spp.	Africa	Various, depending on density	Minor	–
Andiroba	Carapa guianensis	South America	Turnery	Minor	–
Andoung	Monopetalanthus spp.	Africa	Furniture, light construction, plywood, boxes and crates	Minor	M. durandii VU M. compactus VU M heitzii LR/NT
Antiaris	Antiaris spp.	Africa	Veneer, plywood, furniture, joinery, boxes and crates, light construction	Minor	–
Asanfona	Aningeria spp.	Africa	Musical instruments, heavy construction, marine, furniture, flooring	Minor	–
Ash UK,	Fraxinus spp.	UK, Europe, North America	Light coloured furniture, panelling, tool handles	Major	–	Occasionally, as flooring
Apple	Malus sylvestris	UK, Europe	Minor craft items	Minor	–
Ayan	Distemonanthus benthamianus	Africa	Outdoor construction, marine construction, furniture, decorative veneers	Minor	–
Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Balau / Selangan batu /bangkirai	Shorea spp.	South-east Asia	Heavy duty construction work	Major	Many Shorea spp. in international trade are CR, EN or VU
Balsa	Ochroma lagopus	Ecuador	Model making, insulation	Minor	–
Basralocus	Dicornia guianensis	South America	Marine and dock work	Minor	–
Beech	Fagus spp.	UK, Europe, North America	Furniture, flooring, musical instruments	Major	–	Regularly, as wood strip and woodblock flooring
Berlinia, red	Berlinia spp.	Africa	Heavy construction, furniture and cabinetwork, veneers, panelling	Minor	B. occidentalis VU
Bintangor	Calophyllum spp.	South-east Asia	General purpose timber, musical instruments	Minor	Some species are threatened
Binuang	Octomeles sumatrana	South-east Asia	Plywood, light construction, furniture components, cabinetwork	Minor	–
Birch	Betula spp.	UK, Europe, North America	General purpose timber, plywood	Minor	–
Black bean	Castanospermum australe	Australia	Furniture, cabinetwork, joinery	Minor	–
Black locust	Robinia pseudoacacia	Europe, America	Poles, agricultural implements, furniture	Minor	–
Blackbutt	Eucalyptus pilularis	Australia	General purpose timber, construction (including marine), flooring	Minor	–
Blackwood, African	Dalbergia melanoxylon	Africa	Musical instruments, craft products	Minor	LR/NT
Blue gum	Eucalyptus saligna	Australia	General purpose timber, also used for paper	Minor	–	Occasionally, as wood strip flooring
Boxwood, European	Buxus sempervirens	Europe	Turnery, craftwork, sports goods, musical instruments	Minor	–
Bubinga Minor	Copaifera salikounda	West Africa	Veneer, furniture	Minor	VU	Regularly, as woodblock flooring
Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Caimito	Pouteria spp.	South America	Light construction, furniture, cabinet work	Minor	Several species are threatened
Canarium	Canarium schweinfurthii	Africa	Light construction, furniture, veneer, plywood.	Minor	–
Cedar, American	Cedrela spp.	South and Central America	Cabinet making, boatbuilding, light construction	Minor	C. odorata VU, CITES Appdx III (Peruvian population) C. fissilis EN C. lilloi EN
Cedar, pencil (softwood)	Juniperus virginiana/J. procera	J. virginiana: North America J. procera: East Africa	Specialist uses	Minor	J. procera LR (NT)
Cedar, western red (softwood)	Thuja plicata	North America,	Exterior use, cladding some UK plantations	Minor	–	Regularly, as beams
Celtis	Celtis spp.	Africa	Furniture, cabinets, carving, veneer.	Minor	–
Cherry, European	Prunus spp.	UK, Europe, North America	Specialised crafted furniture and decorative work, musical instruments	Minor	–
Chestnut, horse UK,	Aesculus hippocastanum	Europe	Minor goods, turnery and utensils	Minor	–	Regularly, as beams
Chestnut, sweet	Castanea sativa	UK, Europe	Furniture, joinery, fencing	Minor	–	Regularly, as beams
Chontaquiro	Diplotropis martiussi	South America	Outdoor and marine construction	Minor	–
Coigue	Nothofagus dombeyi	South America	Furniture, joinery, mouldings, turnery	Minor	–
Cordia	Cordia millenii	Africa	Exterior cladding, furniture, joinery	Minor	–
Cottonwood	Bombax spp.	Africa	Plywood, blockboard, boxes and crates, furniture	Minor	–
Curupay / Curapixa	Anadenanthera macrocarpa	South America	Heavy construction, flooring, turnery	Minor	–
Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Dafo	Terminalia brassii	South-east Asia	Veneer, furniture, cabinet work, joinery,	Minor	–
Dahoma	Piptadeniastrum africanum	Africa	Heavy construction, wharf decking, flooring	Minor	–
Danta	Nesogordonia papaverifera	Africa	Furniture, turnery, flooring, tool handles	Minor	VU
Denya	Cyclicodiscus gabunensis	Africa	External construction	Minor	–
Durian	Durio spp.	South-east Asia	Furniture, veneer, plywood, light construction	Minor	Several species are VU
Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Ebony	Diospyros spp.	Africa, Asia	Cutlery handles, musical instruments, craftwork.	Minor	Several species in international trade are EN or VU	Regularly, as antique escutcheons, door knobs
Ekki / Azobe / Kaku West	Lophira alata	Africa	Sea defences, sleepers	Minor	VU	Occasionally, as woodblock flooring
Elm	Ulmus spp.	UK, Europe, North America	Furniture, joinery, flooring, external cladding	Minor	–	Regularly, as floorboards
Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Fir, Douglas (softwood)	Pseudotsuga taxifolia / P. menziesii	UK, Europe (plantations) North America	Plywood, structural work, sea defences	Major	–	Regularly, as floorboards
Fir, silver (softwood)	Abies alba	UK (plantations),	Building, joinery, packaging	Minor	–	Northern Europe
Freijo	Cordia goeldiana	South America	Joinery, veneer, construction	Minor	–
Fromager	Ceiba pentandra	Africa, South America	Veneer, weak packaging	Minor	–
Common name	Scientific name	Origin	Uses	Level of use in the UK	Global threat status	Available as reclaimed?
Gmelina	Gmelina arborea	Native to South Asia, timber is from tropical plantations	Light construction, packaging,furniture	Minor	–
Gombe	Didelotia spp.	Africa	Plywood, blockboard, veneers, particleboard, furniture, joinery	Minor	D. idae LR/NT D. unifoliolata LR/NT
Greenheart	Chlorocardium rodiei / Ocotea rodiaei	Guyana	Sea defences	Minor	VU	Regularly, as beams
Guarea	Guarea cedrata / Guarea thompsonii	Central and West Africa	Furniture and exterior work	Minor	G. cedrata VU G. thompsonii VU

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Different types of wood timber by A to Z

Key to threat classification

Table of different types of wood timber by A to Z