919-956-7781 Home About Us Species List Forest Stewardship Contact Us Links Blog Species We Supply Alder (Alnus rubra) Ash (Fraxinus spp.) Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Basswood (Tilia Americana) Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) Cherry (Prunus serotine) Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Elm (Ulmus rubra) Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) Hickory Hard Maple (Acer saccharum, Acer nigrum) Soft Maple (Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum) Red Oak (Quercus spp.) White Oak (Quercus spp.) Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) Tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera) Walnut (Juglans nigra) Willow (Salix nigra) Specie: Alder (Alnus rubra) Thickness: 4/4 – 10/4 Grades: Superior, Cabinet, Jacket Board, Custom Shop, Jacket Board, Standard Frame, #2 Shop, #3 Shop Other Common Names: Red Alder, Western Red Alder, Western Alder General Description: Red Alder is almost white when freshly cut but quickly changes on exposure to air to light brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between sap and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight grained with a uniform texture and can be finished to resemble more expensive fine-grained species such as Cherry, Maple, or Birch. Distribution: West coast, principally the Pacific Northwest, where it is the most common commercial hardwood. Common Uses: Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, interior moldings, turning, carving and kitchen utensils. Widely used by furniture industries around the world, its color makes it an ideal substitute for cherry. Specie: Ash (Fraxinus spp.) Thickness: 4/4 – 12/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Selects, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Northern Ash, Southern Ash, White Ash, General Description: The sapwood is light colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from greyish brown to light brown, to pale yellow streaked with brown. The wood is generally straight grained with a coarse uniform texture. The degree and availability of light colored sapwood, and other properties, will vary according to the growing regions. Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight. Distribution: Distributed throughout Eastern USA. The lumber is often classified according to growing regions and marketed as Northern Ash and Southern Ash. It is sometimes separated for color and sold as white ash (sapwood) or brown ash (heartwood). American Ash can comprise a number of commercial subspecies and is available in a wide range of grades and specifications. Common Uses: Furniture, flooring, doors, architectural interiors, high class joinery and molding, kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, sports goods and turning. A versatile, good-looking wood, offering great value for a wide range of joinery and furniture applications. Specie: Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: White Poplar General Description: Sapwood is white, blending into the light brown heartwood. The contrast between sap and heartwood is small. The wood has a fine uniform texture and is straight grained. Distribution: Aspen is a true poplar and is harvested commercially in the North Eastern USA. Limited availability of grades and thicknesses. Common Uses: Furniture parts (drawer sides), doors, moldings, picture frames, and interior joinery. Specie: Basswood (Tilia Americana) Thickness: 4/4 – 16/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Linden, American Whitewood, American Linn General Description: The sapwood of basswood is usually quite large and creamy white in color, merging into the heartwood, which is pale to reddish brown, sometimes with darker streaks. The wood has a fine uniform texture and indistinct grain that is straight. Distribution: Eastern USA, principally the Northern and Lake States, where there is reasonable availability. Lumber is produced in a range of thicknesses, specifications and grades, although volumes may be limited. Common Uses: Carving, turning, furniture, moldings, interior joinery and musical instruments. Specie: Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: General Description: The sapwood of American beech is white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. American beech tends to be slightly darker and less consistent than European beech. American beech is generally straight grained and is classed as heavy, is hard and reasonably strong. Distribution: Grows throughout Eastern USA, although commercial concentration is in the Central and Mid-Atlantic states. Production volumes of higher lumber grades and thicker stock may be limited. Common Uses: Furniture, doors, flooring, internal joinery, and paneling. Specie: Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: General Description: Yellow birch has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight grained with a fine uniform texture. The wood of yellow birch is heavy, hard and strong. It has very good wood bending properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance. Distribution: Eastern USA, principally Northern and Lake States. Reasonable availability, but more limited if selected for color, i.e. red birch (heartwood) or white birch (sapwood). Increasingly found in export markets, although volumes produced may limit sizes and grades available. Common Uses: Furniture, internal joinery and paneling, doors, flooring, kitchen cabinets, turning and toys. Specie: Cherry (Prunus serotine) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Selects & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Black Cherry General Description: The heartwood of American cherry varies from rich red too reddish brown and will darken on exposure to light. In contrast the sapwood is creamy white. Cherry can be supplied steamed, to darken sapwood or left untamed. The wood has a fine uniform straight grain, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets. Distribution: Found throughout Eastern USA, but main commercial areas are Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and New York State. Although Cherry accounts for less than 2% of the growing hardwood resource, it is widely available in a full range of specifications. Common Uses: Furniture and cabinet making, high-class joinery, kitchen cabinets, moldings, paneling, flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turning and carving. Specie: Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Thickness: 4/4 – 9/4 Grades: FAS/1F, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Eastern cottonwood, Eastern poplar, Carolina poplar General Description: The sapwood is white and may contain brown streaks while the heartwood may be pale to light brown. It is a diffuse porous timber with a coarse texture. The wood is generally straight grained and contains relatively few defects. As a true poplar cottonwood has similar characteristics and properties to American Aspen and European Poplar. Distribution: Cottonwood is a true poplar and grows commercially in the Central and Southern States, where it is widely available. This species may be limited in some export markets where demand is low. Common Uses: Furniture, furniture parts, interior joinery and moldings, toys and kitchen utensils. Specie: Elm (Ulmus rubra) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Slippery Elm, Brown Elm, Grey Elm General Description: Red Elm has a greyish white to light brown narrow sapwood, with heartwood that is reddish brown to dark brown in color. The grain can be straight, but is often interlocked. The wood has a coarse texture. Distribution: The Eastern to Midwest USA. Limited availability due to the impact of Dutch Elm disease. Elm is now regenerating better in some regions and is still exported, but in relatively small volumes, therefore some grade qualities and specifications may be limited. Common Uses: Furniture, cabinet making, flooring, internal joinery and paneling. Specie: Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Red Gum, Sap Gum, Sweet Gum General Description: The sapwood of American Gum tends to be wide and is white to light pink, while the heartwood is reddish brown, often with darker streaks. The wood has irregular grain, usually interlocked, which produces an attractive grain figure. It has a fine uniform texture. Distribution: The gums are an important part of the Eastern hardwood forests, and are found throughout the Southeastern USA. When sorted for color, Red Gum (majority heartwood) is more limited in its availability. Common Uses: Cabinet making, furniture parts, doors, internal joinery, strips and moldings. Used in some export markets with stained finishes as a walnut or mahogany substitute. Specie: Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Common Hackberry, Sugarberry General Description: Hackberry is closely related to sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) and is a member of the elm family. There is little difference between sapwood and heartwood, which is yellowish grey to light brown with yellow streaks. The wood has irregular grain, occasionally straight and sometimes interlocked, with a fine uniform texture. Distribution: Throughout Eastern USA, although not available in large commercial volumes. There is some export of lumber, mainly in thinner stock and availability of higher grades may be limited. Common Uses: Furniture and kitchen cabinets, joinery, doors and moldings. Specie: Hickory Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: General Description: The hickories are an important group within the eastern hardwood forests. Botanically, they are split into two groups; the true hickories, and the pecan hickories (fruit bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and is usually sold together. The sapwood of hickory and pecan is white, tinged with brown while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Both are coarse textured and the grain is usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. Distribution: Eastern USA, principal commercial areas are the Central and Southern states. Readily available, but more limited if sold selected for color as either red or white hickory or pecan. For export, lumber may be limited in the higher grades and available mainly in thinner stock. Common Uses: Tool handles, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, wooden ladders, dowels and sporting goods. Hickory is increasingly being exported for flooring, for its attractive rustic look and hardwearing properties. Specie: Hard Maple (Acer saccharum, Acer nigrum) Thickness: 4/4 – 12/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Sugar Maple, Black Maple, Rock Maple General Description: The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish brown tinge and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The amount of darker brown heartwood can vary significantly according to growing region. Both sapwood and heartwood can contain pith fleck. The wood has a close fine texture and is generally straight grained, but it can also occur as “curly”, “fiddleback”, and “birdseye” figure. Distribution: Eastern USA, principally Northeastern and Lake States. A cold weather tree favoring a more northerly climate. The higher quality grades of lumber are available selected for white color (sapwood), although this can limit availability. Figured maple (birdseye, curly, fiddleback) is generally only available in commercial volumes as veneer. Common Uses: Flooring, furniture, paneling, kitchen cabinets, worktops and table tops, interior joinery: stairs, handrails, moldings, and doors. The hard wearing properties and tight smooth grain make this species ideal for high traffic flooring applications, such as theatres, concert halls, gymnasiums and basketball courts. Specie: Soft Maple (Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum) Thickness: 4/4 – 16/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: River Maple, Silver Maple General Description: In most respects the wood of soft maple is very similar to that of hard maple, although due to its widespread growth it may be more susceptible to regional color variations. Generally, the sapwood is greyish white, sometimes with darker colored pith flecks, and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight grained. The lumber is generally sold unselected for color. Distribution: Wide distribution throughout Eastern USA, however, Pacific coast/big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) grows exclusively in the Pacific Northwest. Availability is improving as demand increases in export markets. Common Uses: Furniture, paneling, interior joinery, kitchen cabinets, moldings, doors, musical instruments, and turning. Soft maple is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to resemble other species such as cherry. Its physical and working properties also make it a possible substitute for beech. Specie: Red Oak (Quercus spp.) Thickness: 3/4 – 16/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, Selects, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Northern Red Oak, Southern Red Oak General Description: The sapwood of red oak is white to light brown and the heartwood is often a pinkish reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to white oak, but with a slightly less pronounced figure due to the smaller rays and a more porous end grain structure. The wood is mostly straight grained with a coarse texture. Distribution: Widespread throughout Eastern USA. The oaks are by far the largest species group growing in the Eastern hardwood forests. Red oaks grow more abundantly than the white oaks. The red oak group comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial. Red oak is often classified according to growing regions and marketed as Northern red oak and Southern red oak. Common Uses: Furniture, flooring, architectural interiors, internal joinery, stairs and moldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling and coffins. Not suitable for tight cooperage. Red oak can vary in color, texture, characteristics and properties according to the growing region. It is therefore recommended that users and specifiers work closely with their suppliers to make sure the wood they order is suited to their specific needs. Specie: White Oak (Quercus spp.) Thickness: 3/4 – 16/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, Selects, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Northern White Oak, Southern White Oak General Description: White Oak is similar in color and appearance to European Oak. The sapwood of American white oak is light colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is mostly straight grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than red oak. White oak, therefore, has more figure. Distribution: Widespread throughout Eastern USA. The white oak group comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial. Common Uses: Construction, furniture, flooring, architectural joinery, exterior joinery, moldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, railway sleepers, timber bridges, barrel staves and coffins. Specie: Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) Thickness: 4/4 – 16/4 Grades: FAS/1F, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Buttonwood, American Plane General Description: The sapwood of sycamore is white to light yellow, while the heartwood is light to dark brown. The wood has a fine close texture with interlocked grain. It is not related in any way to European sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), but it has the same family classification, and similar characteristics to European plane (Platanus orientalis). Contrasts well with other species. Distribution: Throughout the Eastern USA. Reasonable availability in a range of specifications and grades, although availability in export markets may vary and be quite limited where demand or interest is low. Common Uses: Furniture, furniture parts (drawer sides), internal joinery, paneling and moldings, kitchen ware, butcher’s blocks and veneered panels. Specie: Tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera) Thickness: 4/4 – 16/4 Grades: Other Common Names: Yellow Poplar Tulip Poplar General Description: The sapwood is creamy white and may be streaked, with the heartwood varying from pale yellowish brown to olive green. The green color in the heartwood will tend to darken on exposure to UV light and turn brown. The wood has a medium to fine texture and is straight grained. The size of the sapwood and some physical characteristics will vary according to growing regions. The wood has many desirable characteristics and is suitable for a wide variety of important uses. Tulipwood is not a poplar (Populus) and has many superior properties. However, the tree resembles the shape of the European Poplar, hence its name in the USA. Distribution: Widespread throughout Eastern USA. Widely available in a full range of standard lumber thicknesses. Excellent availability as lumber and veneer. Tulipwood is one of the largest trees in the U.S. forest and can produce very wide and long specifications, which are relatively knot free. It represents around 9% of the standing hardwood resource, which ensures continuity and volume supply to export markets. Common Uses: Furniture, interior joinery, kitchen cabinets, doors, paneling, moldings, edged-glued panels, plywood (USA), turning and carving. Specie: Walnut (Juglans nigra) Thickness: 4/4 – 12/4 Grades: FAS/1F, Select & Better, Selects, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Black Walnut, American Walnut General Description: The sapwood of walnut is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. Walnut is usually supplied steamed, which darkens the sapwood, but a very unique look can also be achieved by leaving it natural. The wood is generally straight grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure. The dark heartwood will lighten in color as it ages overtime with exposure to UV light. Distribution: Throughout Eastern USA, but principal commercial region is the central United States. One of the few American species planted as well as naturally regenerated. Common Uses: Furniture, cabinet making, architectural interiors, high class joinery, doors, flooring, gunstocks and paneling. A favored wood for using in contrast with lighter colored timbers. Specie: Willow (Salix nigra) Thickness: 4/4 – 8/4 Grades: FAS/1F, 1 Common, 2 Common Other Common Names: Black Willow, Swamp Willow General Description: The sapwood of willow varies according to growing conditions and is light creamy brown in colour. In contrast, the heartwood is pale reddish brown to greyish brown. The wood has a fine even texture and, although generally straight grained, it can sometimes be interlocked, or display figure. Distribution: Eastern USA. Principal commercial areas are the Middle and Southern States, along the Mississippi river. Reasonable availability, although availability in exports markets may vary and may be restricted to certain grades and thinner stock. Common Uses: Furniture, joinery, interior moldings, paneling, doors, sports equipment, kitchen utensils and toys. Looking for one source of all your hardwood needs? Contact Us About CK International CK International is dedicated to providing our customers with the finest quality lumber available, while offering competitive pricing and prompt delivery. Providing lumber to international companies for over 30 years. We offers decades of international experience with a solid understanding of today's complex customs and shipping requirements in Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets. 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