The descriptive key is based on features visible to the unaided
eye and with a small hand lens of approximately 10X magnification.
This key was made with the assistance of the keys of S. J. Record
and Filbert Roth together with a wood collection for the personal
examination of each species named. The characters are easily visible
if directions are followed. Caution must be taken in making cross
section cuts so as not to tear the wood elements. Always use a
very sharp heavy knife in making the cut for observation. The
softer the wood the more certain you must be sure that your knife
is sharp. If the features do not show well, moisten the freshly
cut surface.
Where species' names have changed, the examples found in Hough
ate in brackets. These need to be verified to make certain they
are the same species, now renamed.
1. Wood porous. Vessels are present, varying
in size. Wood composition heterogeneous. Growth rings distinct
in ring porous to indistinct in diffused porous. Wood parenchyma
presents, often conspicuous. Rays vary from minute to large
and conspicuous. 23.
1. Wood non-porous. Vessels absent. Wood homogeneous.
Growth rings distinct due to change in color and density of
wood. Wood composed largely or entirely of tracheids, fairly
uniform in structure and arranged in definite radial rows barely
visible under the lens. Resin cells may be present or absent.
Rays fine. May or may not have resinous odor or taste. 2.
2. Resin ducts, both vertical and horizontal, present.
Vertical resin ducts ducts usually visible on the cross section
without a lens; horizontal resin ducts occur in fusiform rays
and are not readily visible even with a lens. The vertical
ducts appear on the longitudinal surface as fine lines or
scratches, light amber or dark brown to black in color. 3.
2. Vertical resin ducts normally absent;
may be present as a result of injury in which case they are
in a compact peripheral row. 13.
3. Resin ducts plainly visible (large to small)
on the cross section. normally occur in the outer portions of
the growth rings. 4.
3. Resin ducts small and inconspicuous; appear
in late wood as small whitish dots visible with lens. 9.
4. Resin ducts numerous, evenly scattered
throughout the late wood. characteristic resinous odor. 5.
4. Resin ducts not numerous nor evenly distributed.
Odor usually faint or absent. Color of heart wood dull orange
to reddish; sapwood yellowish. Resin ducts frequently combined
in tangential groups of 5 to 20, forming lines on the cross
section. Wood coarse grained, uneven textured. Early wood
weak, late wood dense and hard, being prominent on both cross
and radial surfaces.
Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii [Pseudopsuga
taxifolia]
5. Transition from early to late wood gradual.
Annual ring distinguished by fine line of dense late wood cells.
Color creamy to yellowish red. Wood soft, light, and straight
grained.
Soft Pines 6.
5. Transition from early to late wood abrupt.
Decided contrast in color between early and late wood which
is darker colored. Color from light yellow to deep orange. Woods
vary from soft to hard and heavy.
Hard Pines 7.
6. Resin ducts appear lighter than the surrounding
wood when cross section is moistened. In old dry
boards exposed to the air for long periods, the resin ducts
will be dark colored. Deep fresh cuts will show the lighter
colored resin ducts. Color of wood varying from light straw
to creamy-white and reddish brown with a purplish tinge to
the late wood. No sugary exudations. Texture fine; luster
silky; cleavable into long thin strips.
White Pine Pinus
strobus
Western or Idaho White Pine Pinus
monticola
6. Resin ducts conspicuous, appearing darker
than the surrounding wood. Prominent long, dark streaks of
resin ducts are visible on the tangential and radial surfaces.
Summer or late wood amber in color. General color of wood
yellowish to to very light brown. Texture coarse; luster dull;
not cleavable into thin strips. Sugary exudations and sugar
pockets common on fresh lumber.
Sugar Pine Pinus
lambertiana
7. Wood light and soft. light orange in color.
Broad growth of early wood; bands of late wood narrow. 8.
7. Wood heavy and hard. Late wood medium to
very dense, narrow to wide and orange to purple-brown in color.
Early wood yellowish in color and broader than the late wood.
resin ducts conspicuous and lighter than the surrounding wood.
Southern Pine Pinus echinata Pinus elliottii
Pinus
palustris Pinus taeda
8. Change from early to late wood appears to be gradual
with a slightly darker fine band
band of late wood growth which is fairly even in width and
lustrous deep amber colored on cross section. Resin ducts
small, widely scattered; not highly resinous.
Red or Norway Pine Pinus
resinosa
8. Change from early to late wood abrupt.
late wood band narrow or broad; yellowish; not lustrous when
cut on the cross section. Heart wood is hard, heavy, highly
resinous. Late wood is pale yellow in color.
Ponderosa or Western Yellow Pine Pinus
ponderosa
9. Wood variable but mostly hard and heavy
with a decided contrast between seasonal growth; sometimes decidedly
pitchy. 10.
9. Wood variable from very light and soft
to moderately so with from slightly to decided contrast between
seasonal growths. Usually the late wood is not pronounced. Non-
resinous. Texture fine; luster satiny. 11.
10. Color light yellowish brown; texture
medium. Growth rings usually wide but variable in width. Wood
not straight grained, not highly resinous.
Tamarack, Eastern Larch Larix laricina [Larix
Americana]
10. Color reddish brown. Growth rings generally
narrow and uniform in width. Texture coarse and harsh. straight
grained. Sometimes extremely dense and pitchy. Slight resinous
odor. Resin ducts sometimes in groups, readily visible, light
reddish and open. Pitch streaks of resin ducts visible on
the tangential surface.
Western Larch Larix
occidentalis
11. Color white to very light. Wood uniform
and fine textured. Resin ducts scarcely visible without a lens.
12.
11. Color reddish to pinkish or pale brown
with purple cast. Becomes silvery on exposure. texture rather
wooly. Resin ducts fairly distinct, lighter colored than surrounding
wood.
Sitka Spruce Picea
sitchensis
12. Grain varying from extremely fine to medium.
Late wood has a high luster on the cross and tangential sections
sharply contrasting to the early wood. Resin ducts few.
Red Spruce Picea
rubens
Black Spruce Picea mariana [Picea
parryana]
12. Grain mostly coarse (radial surface).
Medium contrast between early and late wood. Late wood dull
on cross and tangential sections. Growth rings narrow.
White Spruce Picea glauca [Picea
alba]
Engleman Spruce Picea
englemanii
13. Woods with aromatic odor. 14.
13. Woods without aromatic odor. 19.
14. Color light clear yellow or slightly brownish.
Late wood inconspicuous but appearing as a fine darker
line on the moist cross section. Odor pronounced pungent.
Taste unpleasantly spicy-resinous. Texture fine and uniform.
Port Orford Cedar Chamaecyparis
lawsoniana
14. Color varying from light brown to red or purplish,
never yellow. Late wood distinct. Odor variable, more or less
pronounced but not pungent. Taste not unpleasant. 15.
15. Wood firm and compact, cutting smoothly
across the grain. Moderate contrast between seasonal growth;
transition gradual. Demarcation between heart wood and sapwood
usually distinct. 16.
15. Wood soft and more or less spongy. 17.
16. Color pale reddish brown to roseate.
Rays brown but lighter than late wood. Odor pronounced. Taste
spicy. Growth rings regular, rather finely uniform. Late wood
fairly conspicuous. Texture fine and uniform.
Incense Cedar Libocedrus
decurrens
16. Color purple or deep red, often streaked with
white. Odor and taste characteristic but mild. Resin
cells numerous, deeply colored, mostly zonate in concentric
lines visible with the lens. Texture fine and uniform. Growth
ring often very irregular in width and outline. Late wood
not often conspicuous but appears deep red on moistened cross
section; may be double or triple (false rings).
Pencil or red cedar Juniperus
virginiana
17. Decided contrast between seasonal growths.
late wood thin but hard. Early wood very soft. Transition very
abrupt. light dull brown to reddish brown color, often streaked.
Western Red Cedar Thuya plicata [Thuja
gigantea]
17. Moderate contrasts between seasonal growths.
Late wood rather soft. Transition gradual Pale brown or pinkish
color. 18.
18. Color pale brown. Odor very mild. Wood
soft and punky, brash very dry. Growth rings mostly narrow.
Decided contrast between early and late wood on longitudinal
` surface but contrast moderate on dry cross section; prominent
when moistened.
Arborvitae, Northern White Cedar Thuja
occidentalis
18. Color light reddish brown or pinkish.
Concentrate lines of resin cells visible. Odor more pronounced.
Wood firm and less brash than proceeding species, slightly
oily. Growth rings mostly moderately wide.
Southern White Cedar Chamaecyparis
thyoides
19. Wood oily, greasy or waxy. Your fingers
will feel resin coated when rubbed together after rubbing the
wood. Fresh cut wood or water soaked wood has rancid odor. Color
yellowish or reddish brown or almost dark brown streaked. Texture
fine. Tracheids large; on cross section, the openings (lumina)
are readily visible in regular radial rows, with or with out
the lens. Wood variable from soft and light to hard and heavy.
Ring width frequently irregular.
Bald Cypress Taxodium
distichum
19. Wood not oily or greasy. No rancid odor.
Ring width not irregular. 20.
20. Color of heartwood bright orange, rose
red to deep reddish brown. Sap wood white or light yellow
in color, thin. Tracheids large, openings (lumina) readily
visible with lens. Texture uniform. Wood light and soft with
out odor or taste. Decided contrast between early and late
wood. Late wood narrow, lustrous and deep reddish brown on
cross section and longitudinal section. Early wood dull reddish
brown.
Red Wood Sequoia
sempervirens
20. Color of wood white, creamy-white to
buff yellow. Yellowish brown to brown. It may have a rosate
or reddish brown tinge, particularly the late wood of the
annual ring. No distinct demarcation between heart wood and
sapwood. 21.
21. Color white to pale brown. Late wood darker
yellow with rosate to lavender cast. wood often coarse grained,
soft and weak.
Balsam Fir Abies
balsame
White Fir Abies
concolor
21. Color buff to yellowish or light brown.
Early wood has reddish tinge with darker late wood reddish brown
to to a purplish tinge. 22.
22. Transition from early to late wood frequently
abrupt. Wood dry, brittle, harsh to cut. Silvery,
inclined to split apart at growth rings. Contrast between
seasonal growth pronounced. Color light buff with reddish
brown tinge. Moist fresh wood has a disagreeable odor. Traumatic
longitudinal resin canals, do not occur.
Eastern Hemlock Tsuga
canadensis
22. Transition from early to late wood gradual.
wood not very brittle, splintery, nor harsh to cut; quite
even grained, uniform textured. Color light, sometimes pinkish
or reddish brown. Odorless when dry. Aggregate or resinous
tracheids, traumatic resin canals, resembling resin ducts
on cross section are sometimes present.
Western Hemlock Tsuga
heterophylla
23. Ring porous woods. Largest pores localized in a
band in the early wood are distinct without a lens. 24.
23. Diffuse porous woods. Pores fairly uniform in size
and distribution throughout growth ring. Occasionally more numerous
and very often some what larger in the early wood but without
forming a distinct ring or band in the early wood. 39.
24. Late wood with radial lines or patches,
frequently branched or fan shaped, composed of small pores
and and parenchyma, usually lighter color than the remainder
of the wood, visible on the cross section. Parenchyma in fine
concentric lines also present.
25.
24. No radial lines or patches visible in the late
wood on the cross section, but has tangential or
dotted markings of parenchyma. 27.
25. Rays fine, inconspicuous. Wood light;
not hard to cut the cross section. Pores in early wood very
numerous, large, mostly oval or elliptical, open and in a broad
zone. Color brown. Taste somewhat astringent due to the tannin
content. Early wood pores open or partly filled with tyloses.
Chestnut Castanea
dentata
25. Rays of two kinds (1) Large and
conspicuous, showing as brown flakes or bands on radial
surface and as distinct vertically elongated streaks on the
tangential surface. (2) Very fine usually inconspicuous
without a lens. Both kinds in the same wood. Wood heavy, very
hard. 26.
26. Late wood pores individually distinct under lens,
arranged in fairly definite radial rows. Pores in early wood
large and usually crowed. Pores usually open, sometimes partially
or wholly filled with tyloses. Rays showing tangentially as
short and very distinct lines. Wood pinkish to pale reddish
brown color.
Red Oaks Quercus
rubra
Quercus
prinus, et al.
26. Late wood pores rarely individually distinct.
Arranged in fan shaped patches surrounded by lighter colored
parenchyma. Early wood pores large and generally filled with
tyloses. Rays showing as long, narrow, straight distinct lines
on the tangential surface. Transition of pores abrupt. Wood
medium brown in color.
White oaks Quercus
alba
Quercus
prinus, et al.
27. Pores in late wood numerous. 28.
27. Pores in late wood few, solitary or sub divided
radially in twos and fours. 36.
28. Pores in late wood small, numerous and arranged
in tangential or concentric bands of parenchyma, appearing
lighter than the remainder of wood, especially when moistened.
Wavy or zig zag markings on transverse surface. 29.
28. Pores in late wood variable in size,
clustered, associated with parenchyma which often is confluent
into tangential bands, irregular and broken or more or less
continuous in the outer portions of wide rings. 31.
29. Pores in early wood few to several rows.
rays obscure but visible with lens. Color dark or chocolate
brown. Wood coarsely textured, woolly straight grained.
Slippery or Red Elm Ulmus rubra [Ulmus
fulva]
29. Pores in early wood mostly in single rows,
rays not always distinct with lens. 30.
30. Pores in early wood large and distinct, mostly
open, forming a continuous row, sometimes more than
one row. Growth rings very uneven and widely variable in thickness
in different portions. Texture coarse and woolly. Color light
gray to brown with reddish-brown streaks. Dark brown with
grayish brown streaks on the cross section. Tough, difficult
to split, hard and heavy.
White or American Elm Ulmus
americana
30. Pores in early wood small, scarcely
visible without a lens, mostly closed with tyloses. large
pores few and rather widely separated in a band of small ones.
Growth rings narrow, fairly even and uniform. Late wood pores
few. Texture even not woolly. Color light brown to pinkish.
Rock Elm Ulmus thomasii [Ulmus
racemosa]
31. Woods hard and heavy. Odorless. Color
pronounced. Tyloses present or absent. Rays fine but distinct.
32.
31. Wood light and soft. Odor characteristic.
Color not pronounced, mostly light brown. Tyloses present. 35.
32. Tyloses present. Heart wood golden yellow
to greenish brown. Gum deposits absent or only occasional.
33.
32. Tyloses absent or rare. Heart wood light
red or reddish brown. Dark colored gum deposits present. 34.
33. Color of freshly exposed wood golden yellow,
becoming orange brown upon exposure. Usually with rather distinct
reddish streaks showing on the longitudinal surface. Lustrous;
pin knotty; cross grained.
Osage Orange Maclura pomifera [Toxylon
pomiferum]
33. Color varying from greenish yellow to brown,
often greenish in young trees; usually uniform, not striped
with red. Dull luster; straight grained; Fairly free from knots.
Wood hard early wood wide, light colored; late wood deep dark
brown containing short light colored tangential patches of parenchyma
surrounding the late wood pores.
Black Locust Robinia
pseudoacacia
34. Pores in outer portions of late wood usually
in groups of five to twenty. Individual pores visible.
Sapwood thin. Texture coarse. Color cherry red to reddish
brown.
Kentucky Coffee Tree Gymnocladus dioicus [Gymnocladus
canadensis]
34. Pores in outer portion of late wood minute and
usually in groups of ten to twenty-five. Sapwood
thick. Texture moderately coarse. Color cherry red to reddish
brown.
Honey Locust Gleditsia
triacanthos
35. Pores in late wood solitary or in short radial
groups of 2 or 3. Odor aromatic or spicy. Parenchyma
extends tangentially from late wood pores which appear thick
walled because of encircling parenchyma. Color light orange-brown.
Texture coarse.
Sassafras Sassafras
albidum
35. Pores in late wood in broken tangential bands or
in oblique radial flame-shaped patches of light tissue.
Late wood pores appear thin walled. Odor mild. Color light brown
appearing bluish on the cross section. Wood fine textured, light
and soft.
Catalpa Catalpa speciosa
Catalpa
bigonioides
36. Large early wood pores in a scattered, single
ring. Wood parenchyma in fine concentric lines somewhat
independent of pores. 37.
36. Early wood pores are in a broad zone.
Late wood pores smaller, solitary, subdivided radially into
twos and fours. Wood parenchyma about pores in summer wood
, may connect from pore to pore especially in the late wood.
Rays scarcely distinct without lens. 38.
37. Ripple marks present on tangential section
(60 to 80 per inch). Lines of wood parenchyma indistinct, finer
than rays. Pores open. Color of heart wood of older wood dark
brown, often streaked. Sapwood white or gray. Wood hard and
heavy.
Persimmon Diospyros
virginiana
37. Ripple marks absent. Tangential lines
of wood parenchyma in the summer wood as distinct as the rays.
Pores partially or wholly closed with tyloses. Color of heart
wood light brown to reddish-brown. Sapwood white with pinkish
tinge to the late wood particularly noticeable on the tangential
surface. A few pores may be divided radially , appearing like
the Greek letter theta.
Hickories Carya ovata [Hicoria
ovata]
Carya cordiformis, et al.
38. Pores in late wood isolated, surrounded
by lighter colored parenchyma but rarely joined. In early
wood, pores in broad zone often over half width of growth
ring. Yearly growth ring narrow and even. Wood light, comparatively
soft. Early wood pores prominent on the tangential surface.
wood dull, weak, grayish, brown to dark brown .
Black Ash Fraxinus nigra [Fraxinus
sambucifolia]
38. Pores in late wood frequently connected
by light colored tangential lines of parenchyma. In fast growing
rings, late wood pores appear solitary except at the end of
annual ring. Early wood pores fairly large, and in broad zone.
Color gray brown with reddish tinge. Sapwood white to creamy
white. Yearly growth irregular but tending to be broad. Wood
lustrous, Strong.
White Ash Fraxinus
americana
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
39. Pores large or variable from large to small
within the annual ring although the large pores do not form
a distinct band or ring in the early wood. All or at least a
portion of the pores readily visible to the naked eye. Comparatively
few to numerous. Large pores are very distinct on the longitudinal
surface. 40.
39. Pores may be small but visible or minute and scarcely
visible, often indistinct without a lens; mostly very
numerous and well distributed throughout growth ring. Pores
not conspicuous on the longitudinal surface. 43.
40. All rays fine. Pores not in continuous
radial lines. 41.
40. Some of rays usually very broad. Pores
somewhat variable in size but distinct; arranged in radial
lines or bands between broad rays, extending across the growth
ring and often continuous from one ring to another. Wood parenchyma
commonly in concentric lines as well as about pores, frequently
conspicuous. Wood very dense; color light to dark brown, tinged
with red.
Live Oak Group
Live or Evergreen Oak Quercus virginiana [Quercus
virens]
41. Pores comparatively large in early wood,
diminishing in size toward outer margin of growth ring, somewhat
approaching ring porous. Growth rings distinct. rays fine.
42.
41. Pores conspicuous and of approximately the same
size and scattered throughout growth rings; no tenancy
to become ring porous. Growth rings not always distinct. Wood
parenchyma in tangential lines. Frequently a distinct terminal
line of parenchyma at end of growth ring. Ripple marks present
on tangential surface. Rays fine but distinct. Wood light to
hard and heavy with a rich reddish brown color.
Mahogany Swietenia
mahogani
42. Wood dense and fairly heavy. Color
rich dark chocolate brown to purplish. Wood parenchyma in
numerous fine concentric lines independent of the pores. Tyloses
present. Rays fine.
Black Walnut Juglans
cinera
42. Wood light and soft. Color light chestnut
brown with darker zones. Wood parenchyma in numerous fine
concentric lines independent of the pores. Tyloses present.
Rays fine.
Butternut Juglans cinera
43. Wood dense to moderately so. Rays may
be fine and inconspicuous to moderately broad; or both may occur
in same wood. 44.
43. Wood mostly light and soft . Rays fine,
may be visible without lens to barely visible with lens. 54.
44. Pores in radial lines, not crowded laterally.
Lines of tangential wood parenchyma visible with lens on moist
cross section. Pores in early wood visible to unaided eye.
wood dense difficult to split. Rays fine, indistinct. Growth
ring sometimes sinuous. Color light brown or rosate.
Hornbeam, Ironwood, Leverwood Ostrya
virginiana
44. Pores not in radial lines, although
often in short radial groups, frequently crowded 45.
45. Rays quite distinct without a lens. 46.
45. Rays indistinct without lens. 50.
46. Conspicuously broad rays present; not
aggregate. 47.
46. No conspicuously broad rays present.
rays of moderate width are visible without a lens. Fine rays
visible with a lens. 48.
47. Rays nearly all broad and numerous; fairly
regular; conspicuous on tangential surface, having deeper color
than the surrounding wood, producing very distinct silver grain
on the radial or quartered surface. Pores crowded. Wood cross
grained, splitting irregularly. Color light brown, often striped.
late wood layer thin and of a lighter color than the early wood.
Sycamore Platanus
occidentalis
47. Only some of the rays broad; irregularly
distribute, visible on the tangential surface as short distinct
darker colored lines, but fairly scattered. Wood straight grained.
Color reddish brown to pinkish. With white streaks showing early
wood growth. Late wood growth denser and darker than the early
wood.
Beech Fagus grandifolia [Fagus
ferruginea]
48. Color red to reddish-brown; deep brown
color with age. Rays appear lighter color than the surrounding
wood on the cross section. Gum ducts common. Wavy tangential
grain with more or less homogeneous color.
Black cherry Prunus
serotina
48. Color variable from light cream to decidedly
reddish. Rays considerably darker on radial surface.
Variable in size. Pores not crowded and evenly distributed.
Grain may be curly or bird's eye. 49.
49. Part of rays comparatively large, broader
than the pores, prominent on the cross section. growth rings
distinct due to deeper colored late wood. Wood hard and lustrous,
giving a smooth wavy appearance. Color light orange to pinkish.
cross section a dull orange color.
Hard Maple, Sugar Maple Acer
saccharinum [blister
figure; bird's-eye
figure]
49. Rays fairly even and not as broad as the pores.
Pores visible, rays indistinct. Color pale pinkish to brown,
with rays on radial surface showing broad and deep orange color.
Pitch fleck common. late wood showing as denser growth. Cross
section of the heart wood appears pale reddish-brown colored.
Sapwood white.
Soft or Red Maple Acer
rubrum
Acer
saccharinum
50. Rays normally spaced, not appearing
to form half of the area on the cross section. Pores readily
visible, oval in shape and scattered. 51.
50. Rays very close together, appearing
to form half of the area on the cross section. Growth rings
usually indistinct. Pores numerous but very small. 52.
51. Pores distinct although small, oval in
shape on cross section. Pores readily visible on tangential
section. Color of wood from creamy white with a pinkish tinge
in the narrow sapwood to light reddish brown to dark brown on
cross section in the heart wood. Wood heavy, hard and strong.
Yearly growth ring narrow, distinguished by denser dark brown
ring of late wood.
Yellow Birch Betula alleghaniensis [Betula
lutea]
51. Pores very small, scattered, but oval
in shape on the cross section. Color of wood creamy white in
sapwood, to very light pinkish brown in the heartwood on cross
section. Longitudinal surface creamy white. Wood of moderate
density, fine textured and straight grained. Yearly growth ring
moderate. Annual ring distinguished by lighter fine line of
dense late wood visible on cross section. Radially the late
wood is darker than the early wood. Pith flick common.
White Birch Betula
papyrifera
52. Color reddish to dull chocolate brown,
often with irregular dark streaks producing "watered" effect
on smooth longitudinal surface. Sapwood white but often variegated
with blush or brownish streaks. Luster dull. Pores minute,
abundant, uniformly distributed. Tyloses present. Gum ducts
occasionally present in peripheral rows. Wood moderately hard.
Red Gum Liquidambar
styraciflua
52. Color brown to nearly white. Luster
high. Pores variable in size and abundance. Tyloses absent.
Gum ducts absent.
53. Wood usually dense, tough and strong.
Pores minute, numerous but not crowed, readily visible under
the lens. Wood a flat creamy color with a tinge of greenish
brown. Cross section same as tangential surface. Appears quite
homogeneous; fairly smooth. Rays very fine and close together,
barely visible under the lens. Growth rings frequently narrow.
Black Gum Nyssa
sylvatica
53. Wood light and soft; tough but not strong.
Pores small and crowded, not readily visible under the lens.
Color pale greenish brown, cross section darker. Rays inconspicuous.
Growth rings frequently broad.
Tupelo Nyssa
aquatica
54. Rays distinct to the eye. 55.
54. Rays not distinct with a lens. 57.
55. Wood light brown with a greenish cast
to greenish or light coffee brown. Cross section greenish brown
colored. Growth rings terminated by a distinct light line of
parenchyma. No parenchyma lines within growth ring. Tyloses
few, thin walled and inconspicuous. Wood soft but firm, occasionally
hard. Straight grained. rays fairly uniform. 56.
55. Wood creamy white to grayish brown in
color. Pores distinct with lens. Wood light, soft, compact and
moderately weak, quite homogeneous i appearance. Wood easily
indented with thumb nail. Cuts smoothly.
Basswood
Tilia americana
56. Pores rarely in radial groups, evenly
distributed. Color variable depending on age, locality; clear
yellow to green, brown or purplish. Curly and mottled grain
not uncommon.
Tulip Liriodendron
tulipifera
56. Pores often in radial groups of 3 to
8. Color mostly yellow or greenish. Distinct darker brown
or grayish band of late wood in each annual ring. Wood fine
grained, medium heavy.
Cucumber Tree Magnolia
acuminata
57. Rays distinct with lens. Ripple marls
distinct on tangential surface; fairly regular. All elements
storied. Whitish in color with darker bluish streaks. Wood fine
textured, light, soft. Pores minute, uniformly distributed.
Growth ring terminated by fine line of wood parenchyma.
Buckeye Aesculus
glabra
Aesculus
octandra
57. Rays indistinct even under lens.
58. Color of wood reddish brown, somewhat
variable. Luster dull. Texture coarse. Pores very abundant,
readily visible, smaller pores in late wood. Wide growth rings.
Wood light and soft.
Black Willow Salix
nigra
58. Color pale brown, grayish or white.
wood very light and soft. Growth ring terminated by fine light
colored line of parenchyma, more or less distinct.
59. Texture coarse and woolly. Luster dull.
Pores abundant and visible without lens, smaller in late wood
portions of ring. Color light gray brown. Cross section light
brown colored.
Cotton wood Populus
deltoides
59. Texture very fine and silky. Luster high.
Pores abundant, small, usually invisible without a lens, uniform
in size and arrangement. Wood streaked. Color creamy white.
Cross section yellowish.
Aspen, Trembling Populus
tremuloides
Aspen, BigToothed Populus
grandidentata
