{"id":12289,"date":"2013-07-04T19:15:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-05T01:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/?page_id=12289"},"modified":"2024-07-03T12:35:35","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T17:35:35","slug":"common-us-hardwoods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/common-us-hardwoods\/","title":{"rendered":"Common US Hardwoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Eric Meier<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the process of identifying wood<\/a>, things can get a bit overwhelming when faced with the hundreds and hundreds of possible species. Yet in the context of everyday woods that most people in the United States or Canada are likely to encounter, the list of possible woods is usually much shorter. This article is meant to act as sort of a “Cliffs Notes” to help address the most common (and hopefully, obvious)\u00a0questions\u00a0of wood identification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\"Red<\/a>
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

1. Oak<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Comments:<\/strong>\u00a0This wood is everywhere! Chances are, there’s something made of this wood within a stone’s throw of where you’re sitting right now. It’s used for cabinets, furniture, flooring, trim, doors, and just about anything else that can be made of wood! It’s very frequently stained a medium reddish brown, so it may look slightly darker than the raw sample pictured to the left.<\/p>\n

Lookalikes:<\/strong>\u00a0Ash<\/a> (lacks the prominent rays<\/a> that are found in oak). Also, see the article on\u00a0<\/span>Distinguishing Red Oak from White Oak<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Hard<\/a>
Hard Maple (Acer saccharum)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

2. Maple<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Comments: <\/strong>This light-colored wood is seen almost as frequently as oak, and is usually not stained a dark color, but is kept a natural whitish-cream or sometimes stained an amber-yellow. It’s commonplace in furniture, flooring, trim, and in places where a pale, light-colored wood is needed. Quartersawn pieces with a freckled appearance are commonly used in countertops and butcher blocks.<\/p>\n

Lookalikes:<\/strong>\u00a0Birch<\/a> (generally has narrower rays<\/a> than those found in maple). Pine<\/a> (generally much lighter and softer than maple, and with more conspicuous color in the growth rings). Also, see the article on the Differences Between Hard Maple and Soft Maple<\/a>.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Black<\/a>
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

3. Walnut<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Comments:<\/strong>\u00a0The real deal. Walnut is unique in that it is one of the only woods that is naturally rich, deep chocolate brown (though it can sometimes be slightly lighter as well). It’s almost never stained, and is very popular for use in furniture. It’s also not uncommon to see walnut used in veneered pieces as well.<\/p>\n

Lookalikes:<\/strong>\u00a0Mahogany<\/a> (sometimes it’s stained very dark and the color can appear very similar to walnut). Butternut<\/a> (sometimes called “White Walnut,” it’s related to\u00a0walnut,\u00a0but is paler in color and very\u00a0lightweight).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Black<\/a>
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

4. Cherry<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Comments:<\/strong>\u00a0The subtle reddish brown\u00a0appearance\u00a0of cherry is usually seen on fine\u00a0furniture\u00a0and trim. It’s also not uncommon to see cherry used in veneered pieces as well.\u00a0Along with Black\u00a0Walnut\u00a0 it’s one of the premier hardwoods in the United States. It’s sometimes stained just slightly darker to give it a more aged\u00a0appearance.<\/p>\n

Lookalikes:<\/strong>\u00a0Poplar<\/a> (stained poplar can be almost impossible to tell apart from cherry).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Yellow<\/a>
Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

5. Birch<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Comments:<\/strong>\u00a0Most commonly seen as plywood. Birch also tends to pop up in furniture and millwork too.<\/p>\n

Lookalikes:<\/strong>\u00a0Maple<\/a> (generally has wider rays than those found in birch). Cherry<\/a> (the grain patterns are very similar, and if the birch is stained, it can be difficult to tell apart from cherry).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Yellow<\/a>
Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

6. Poplar<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Comments:<\/strong> This is an inexpensive utility hardwood that’s used in a number of applications, such as upholstered furniture frames, veneer, and is also stained to mimic other more costly hardwoods.<\/p>\n

Lookalikes:<\/strong>\u00a0Cherry<\/a> (if poplar has been stained, it’s almost impossible to tell apart from cherry)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Get the hard copy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"wood-book-standup\"<\/a>If you’re interested in getting all that makes The Wood Database<\/em> unique distilled into a single, real-world resource, there’s the book that’s based on the website\u2014the Amazon.com best-seller, WOOD! Identifying and Using Hundreds of Woods Worldwide<\/a><\/strong>. It contains many of the most popular articles found on this website, as well as hundreds of wood profiles\u2014laid out with the same clarity and convenience of the website\u2014packaged in a shop-friendly hardcover book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Eric Meier In the process of identifying wood, things can get a bit overwhelming when faced with the hundreds and hundreds of possible species. Yet in the context of everyday woods that most people in the United States or Canada are likely to encounter, the list of possible woods is usually much shorter. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12289","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12289"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40628,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12289\/revisions\/40628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}