Acacia -A dull yellow-coloured hardwood with brownish markings, occasionally used for inlay work towards the end of the 18th century. A strong durable wood.

Alder - Sometimes used in making chairs of common variety; it grows in England on swampy ground and is of orange yellow colour.

Amaranth – Please refer to  Purple Heart.

Amboyna - A West Indian wood of yellowish-brown colour, mottled with "bird's-eye" figurings, used in veneering whole surfaces such as table tops, and also for inlay and marquetry sometimes found in occasional tables.

Apple – Used in veneer and inlay - a heavy hardwood, reddish-brown in colour, with straight grain.

Ash – It resembles oak in appearance and texture - a tough white wood largely used for making furniture, particularly chairs; it has light brown markings.

Beech - Much used in making articles of furniture, chairs being the most favoured; also used for other articles that are afterwards painted. It is of brownish white colour, hard and solid, and has a speckled grain.

Birch - A wood once much preferred for the construction of bedroom furniture.  It is a hardwood and retains its arris.

Black Bean - A richly marked Australian hardwood of rich colour, much used for  high-class joinery work.

Blackwood - A general title given to numerous hardwoods found in both the East and West Indies. They are all heavy, hard a decorative, and in colour range from dark brown to purplish colour.

Bog Oak - Oak, black in colour as it has been preserved in peat.

Box - A very hard, extremely heavy wood of pale bellow colour, with a fine texture.

Brazil Wood - A hard, heavy wood resembling mahogany, used for  inlay.

Calamandar - A hard wood from East India. It is hazel-brown in colour with black streaks, and was much used for making small articles of furniture.

Camphorwood - From Borneo and Kenya.

Canary Wood - A species of mahogany of a light yellow colour, used for veneers and inlay work.

Cedar - A light, soft brown wood with straight grain but little used in cabinet work owing to its poor quality. Sometimes employed for drawers, linings, etc., owning to its possessing a delicate fragrance which also acts as a deterrent to insects.

Cherry - A reddish hardwood with close grain. Used for articles and inlay.

Chestnut - A hard, durable white wood, that  resembles oak.

Circassian Walnut – Located in Southern Europe.

Coromandel – imported from the W.Indies. A variety of calamander wood; much used for making furniture, particularly small articles such as writing boxes.

Cypress - A strong durable timber used in joinery; it has a fine, grain and is of a yellowish colour with reddish markings.

Deal - A general name given to the wood of fir and pine trees, straight grained.

Ebony - A very hard close-grained wood, heavier than water, of deep black colour with dark green and brown stripes; principally used for veneers, but sometimes for articles of furniture and ornamental items.

Elm - A hard, compact, durable wood of light colour with pronounced grain

Hickory - A strong tenacious wood, much used for carriage shafts, whip handles, gun stocks, etc; it has been very little used for furniture, being peculiarly liable to damage by worms, heat and moisture.

Holly - An ivory white, hard, fine-grained wood, with a small spotted grain,  used for veneer work, in which it is sometimes dyed various colours.

Kauri - a light yellow straight-grained wood from New Zealand.

Kingwood - A Brazilian wood much used for veneer and inlay work; it is similar to rosewood but lighter in colour and more heavily marked in a violet shade. Used for veneers.

Larch – A knot free  tough, durable, straight-grained wood.

Lignum Vitae - A hard  tough, close-grained wood of dark greenish-brown colour, imported from Jamaica; used for veneering, particularly in the 17th century.

Lime - A light, soft, but tough and durable white wood, free from knots and cross grain, much used by carver chairs.

Mahogany - Mahogany varies considerably, some varieties being hard and some soft, but it is probably the most stable of woods when seasoned. The hard variety, known as "Spanish" mahogany, was generally used in England from the early 18th century. It was obtained from  Jamaica, Cuba and San Domingo. Honduras mahogany is lighter in colour and softer.

Maple - A fine-grained white wood much employed for inlay and marquetry work. The famous "birds-eye" maple is obtained from the sugar maple tree; its wood is often used for panels, inlay work and picture frames and when polished is of a rich golden-brown colour. Resembles sycamore when polished.

Oak - Famous for its strength and durability. Used for the making of furniture until the late 17th century. Subsequently its use was restricted to the carcase portions of fine veneered furniture, although it continues to be generally employed for simpler, country furniture.

Olive Wood - Of a greenish yellow colour with black cloudy spots and veins; often used for veneering and small ornamental articles.

Padouk - An Australian hardwood, resembles rosewood, greyer in colour.

Palisander - See Purple Heart

Pitch Pine - A variety of wood imported from the United States; it is hard and of yellowish colour with brown streaks; it is not very extensively used in making furniture.

Plane - A white close-grained wood often used as a substitute for beech.

Plum - A heavy yellow to reddish brown wood used as inlay.

Pollard Oak and Walnut - The wood of oak and walnut trees that have been polled, cut at the top to give a bushier head. The process alters the grain.

Purple Heart, Amaranth or Palisander - A strong, durable close-grained hardwood obtained from British Guiana. Its colour varies from dark-brown to purplish-violet, with a wavy grain and distinct markings. It is used for veneers and other decorative purposes.

Rosewood - A hard-wood imported from India; it somewhat resembles mahogany in general appearance; the colours vary from a light to almost blackish brown, marked with streaks of dark red and black. It was chiefly used for veneer and inlay work, but during the first half of the 19th century articles were made up entirely from it. When cut it yields an agreeable smell of roses, from which it derives its name.

Sandalwood - A compact, fine-grained wood, remarkable for its fragrance, which is much disliked by insects. The wood is therefore useful in making workboxes and similar articles. It is imported from the East Indies, and is of a greenish-yellow colour.

Satin Walnut - The English name for American Gum; a light brown sometimes with black stripe markings, used for inexpensive bedroom furniture.

Satinwood - A hard, close-grained, heavy wood of yellow colour varying to a golden hue; some varieties have no markings and are quite plain, others have a distinct rippled figure, and were extensively used by Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. It is imported from Africa and the West Indies.

Snakewood - A rare, very hard heavy wood of yellow colour, beautifully mottled with deep brown marks, arranged regularly and bearing a slight resemblance to the markings of a snake; its scarcity makes it valuable and it is used only on very fine inlay work. It is obtained from Guiana.

Sycamore - A species of maple, hard and even-grained; in its natural state is of a light yellowish colour, possesses a fine "fiddleback" grain, although it is sometimes found without markings. It is often stained to a greenish grey shade, and in this state is used for veneering whole suites of furniture, when it is sometimes called greywood.

Teak - A heavy, very hard wood of reddish brown colour extensively used for shipbuilding; it is used for making furniture, sinks, etc.

Thuya - A wood occasionally used for inlay work, it is of a golden brown colour, figures with small "birds'-eyes" in a halo or circle.

Tulipwood - A hardwood of yellowish colour with reddish stripes; it is usually cut across the grain and used in veneers for banding. It loses lustre on exposure.

Walnut - A fairly hard fine-grained wood of rich brown colour, veined and shaded with darker brown and black. Considerably used in the making of furniture, particularly of the Queen Anne period. English walnut is usually distinguishable by its rich golden-brown colour and straight grain, foreign varieties being of a darker colour.

Yew - A very hard, tough, pliable wood of orange red or dark brown colour, formerly much used for making bows and the backs of Windsor chairs.