In past decades, it was a common practise to put inexpensive sub-flooring in homes and cover it permanently with carpet. The trend has swung a lot back to hardwood floors. For years the most common woods used for flooring for North American have been Oak (Quercus - very popular), Maple (Acer), Ash (Fraxinus), Hard Pines (Pinus), Walnut (Juglans) and other domestic woods . Mind you, that is a view as looked at from North America. Other countries undoubtedly became accustomed to using other woods.

A new flooring trend has been happening in recent years in which many foreign species, especially tropical woods are being offered for flooring. One major reason for the resurgence of wood flooring in homes is that they were a lot less allergenic. Those with allergies found that they were more comfortable not having so much carpet around.

Another important factor in this new flooring trend has been the final availability and acceptance of such tropical woods. Had you asked ten or twenty years ago if woods from the Amazon were used for flooring, you would have found that they were just starting to understand the woods that came from the diverity of areas and climates and what woods fit best for what applications. Consumers did not know these woods and therefore did not trust them. Indeed, there were tropical flooring firms that had hard lessons to learn, some even going out of business because they tried to use certain woods in climates and conditions not suited to them. The wood would shrink, crack or otherwise prove unsuitable. Flooring manufacturers have learned a lot now and they know more about what woods to use in which climates. They also make sure that the wood from a country is carefully dried to the proper level for each country they are being shipped to. The flooring is often shrink wrapped so moisture levels cannot shift during shipping over huge, humid oceans.

As you will see by the list enclosed, it is truly amazing how many different woods are used to manufacture flooring these days. Brazilian Cherry, also called Jatoba or Courbaril has especially attained wide acceptance. It is much harder than Oak and reasonably priced. A list has been composed of numerous web references and sources for foreign woods and tropical woods ("foreign" being referenced from North America) offered as flooring. That is the first list that follows. The second list has many of the URL's (web addresses) of the companies that list foreign and tropical woods being offered for flooring. Some even supply samples, for free, for the cost of shipping or for a moderate cost for sample and shipping.

What a blessing this can be for home owners now. The variety of grains, colours and patterns from which you can choose are greater than they ever have been. There is far more choice to pick from to match the tastes of each home owner and the decor of the walls, ceilings, furniture and fixtures in each room. Many of these woods are harder and more lustrous than woods from temperate zones. Some of them sparkle back at you with an illusion of depth that moves about as walk about, almost as if the wood still has life to it.

Sample sizes for flooring can vary. Quite a few come close to about 8 to 8 1/2 inches in length. Expect to find tongue and groove molding on the edges and the backs having molding grooves on most since they are often cut from actual flooring boards. Only a few samples are thinner than 1/2 inch. Most are at least 3/4 inch. There are different catagories of wood flooring. Each has its advantage:

• Solid unfinished flooring - provides you with the flooring but leaves final finishing to the installer. This is more work. However, such floors can be sanded down and refinished years later. The final finishing is done after the wood is installed.
• Solid finished floors - There are two common finishes often applied, Urethane based and Aluminum Oxide coatings. The Aluminum Oxide process produces a particularly tough surface that resists scuffing. This coating process cannot be done at a home. It must be done at a factory set up for this.
• Engineered floors - Often use a thick veneer layer over other substrates. There are claims of less distortion and movement of such floors. However, if over the years, pieces wear down through this relatively thin layer of veneer, the entire piece has to be replaced. With conventional solid hardwood, there is still lots of wood left to sand down to and refinish.

If you contact any of these firms, please be courteous and diplomatic. Firms, of course, give samples out with hopeful expectations of increasing sales. In fact, some (but not all) will query you on the application you have, how many square feet, etc. You can look as much as you want in magazines and online to view these new woods .... that will give you a start to understanding what they are like. However, there is no substitute to having actual pieces to look at and feel to really understand the colours, grain patterns and lustre of each wood. Real wood, especially some species more than others, have a wonderful way of reflecting and refracting light to give them a three dimensional depth. Curly grain and other fancy grain patterns can seem to move as you move the wood itself or walk along a finished floor. You will therefore want to see actual floors put down in flooring outlets and to obtain samples to view, study and take home to see which match to the final appearance in each room you want.

A few places list botanical names with the common names but many do not. Insist, where you can, that they supply the botanical equivalents to the common names. There is a common tendancy to name the same wood with different common or trade names. You could think you are looking at a different wood than you saw in another store, using trade names, when in truth it is the same. Trade names notoriously abuse the inclusion of words like "Rosewood", "Mahogany", "Walnut", "Cherry", "Oak" as part of their name when these woods might have a superficial appearance to some of these woods but not be botanically related. These are all considered necessary marketing techniques to give the public a bridge across to woods with which they are more familiar. The quality of a wood is not in its name only but in getting to know the characteristics of each wood. Names of Ipe, Cumaru, Bubinga, and harder to pronounce Massaranduba are just as valid names of high quality woods even if they do not sound as familiar as Oak, Cherry or Maple.

The botanical names assigned in the listings below include those where not reported by the supplier, from researching through the Internet and other local resources and are a best guess. The common names are as they were listed on the website where they were found. Some are well known, common names while some can be trade names or even names local to an area.

Happy wood flooring hunting! Have fun.

Tropical and Foreign Woods Used in Flooring:

Common or Trade Names	Botanical Name (Given by supplier or estimated)
Acajou	Anacardium occidental, Guarea guidonia
Afrormosia	Afrormosia elata
Afzelia, Apa, Doussie	Afzelia spp.
Almondwood	Chukrasia tabularis
Amarante	Amaranthus blitum
Amaretto Wood	Dipteryx odorata
Amberwood, Peroba	Aspidosperma polyneuron
Angelim Para, Sirari, Tiete Rose,	Guibourtia chodatianal
Angelim Pedra	Hymenolobium spp.Andira ormosioides
Angelique	Dicorynia guianensis
Angico Preto	Piptadenia macrocarpa
Apa, Afzelia, Doussie	Afzelia spp.
Australian Cypress	Callitrus glauca
Aztec, Mayan Walnut	Lysiloma bahamensis
Babi Kurus	Eurcoma longifolia? Lithocarpus licidus?
Bamboo, Moso	Phyllostachys pubescens
Beech, European	Fagus sylvatica
Benge, Ovangkol, Amazaque	Guibourtia ehie
Bloodwood	Brosimum rubescens
Bocote	Bocote
Boire	Deterium senegalese
Bolivian Cherry	?
Brazilian Blackheart	?
Brazilian Cherry, Jatoba, Courbaril	Hymenaea courbaril L.
Brazilian Chestnut, Brazilian Teak	Dipteryx odorata
Brazilian Ebony	Swartzia tomentosa
Brazilian Eucalyptus, Rose Gum	Eucalyptus grandis
Brazilian Kingwood	Dalbergia cearensis
Brazilian Maple, Patagonian Maple	Balfourodendron riedelianum
Brazilian Oak, Tauari	Couratari spp.
Brazilian Olivewood	Ferreirea spectabilis
Brazilian Teak, Brazilian Chestnut	Dipteryx odorata
Brazilian Tulipwood	Dalbergia decipilaris
Brazilian Walnut	Tabebuia Serratifolia
Brushbox, Northern	Tristania spp.
Bubinga	Guibourtia demeusi
Bulletwood, Beefwood	Manilkara bidentata
Cabreuva, Tobaccowood	Myrocarpus floridus
Canary Wood	Centrolobium spp.?
Caribbean Pine	Pinus caribaea
Caribbean Walnut	Lysoma spp.
Caribbean Rosewood, Chechen	Metopium browneii
Champaka, Champaca	Michellia champaca
Chengal, Penak, Karakong	Neobalnocarpus Heimii
Chilean Black Cherry, Coigue	Nothofagus, dombeyi
Chinese Elm	Ulmus parvifolia
Cocobolo	Dalbergia retusa
Congona	Brosimum alicastrum
Cumaru, Almendrillo	Dipteryx odorata
Curupay, Patagonian Rosewood	Piptadenia macrocarpa
Cypress, Australian	Callitrus glauca
Daeng	Xylia kerrie
Daru-daru	Cantleya corniculata Howard
Doussie, Afzelia, Apa	Afzelia spp.
Ebiara	Berlinia bracteosa
Ebony	Diospyros spp.
Etimoe	Copaifera kounda
French Oak	Quercus spp.
Gatambu, Pau Marfim, Mochawood	Balfourodendron riedelianum
Gingerwood, Tatajyva	Chlorophora tinctoria
Goiabao	Pouteria spp., P. popachycarpa
Grapia	Apuleia leiocarpa
Greenheart	Ocotea rodiaei
Green Ironwood, Lapacho	Tabetuia ipe
Guajava, Wild Senna, Candlewood	Senna alata
Ipe, Lapacho	Tabebuia spp.
Iroko, Kambala	Chloraphora excelsa
Ironwood, Penanga	Mesua ferrea
Ivorywood	Siphonodon australis?
Jarrah	Eucalyptus marginata
Jatoba, Brazilian Cherry	Hymenaea Courbaril
Kempass	Koompassia malaccensis
Keranji	Dialium spp.
Keruing	Dipterocarpus spp.
Kulim	Scorodocarpus borneensis
Kurupaya, Angico	Piptadenia rigida
Kurupay	Jugans spp.? Piptadenia spp.
Lacewood	Roupala brasilliensis
Lapacho, Ipe	Tabebuia spp.
Leopardwood	Flindersia maculosa
Macaranduba, Massaranduba	Manilkara bidentata
Macrocarpa	Cupressus macrocarpa
Madrone	Arbutus menziesii
Mahogany, Honduran	Swietenia macrophylla
Matai	Prumnopitys taxifolia
Mayan Walnut, Aztec	Lysiloma bahamensis
Merbau	Intsia spp.
Mesquite	Prosopis spp.
Mochawood, Gatambu, Pau Marfim	Balfourodendron riedelianum
Mountain Ash, Tasmanian Oak	Eucalyptus regnans
Muiracatiara	Astronium lecointei
Mutenye, Shedua	Guibourtia arnoldiana
Nogal, Peruvian Walnut	Juglans neotropical
Northern Brushbox	Tristania spp.
Okan, Edun	Cyclodiscus gabunensis
Olivewood, Taperyva	Ferreirea spectabilis
Padouk, African	Pterocarpus soyauxii
Patagonian Cherry, Tiete Rosewood	Guibourtia chodatianal
Patagonian Rosewood, Curupay	Piptadenia macrocarpa
Palm, Coconut Palm	Cocos nucifera
Pau Marfim, Gatambu, Mochawood	Balfourodendron riedelianum
Pepperwood, Kuruapy, Kurupay	Piptadenia macrocarpa
Peroba	Aspidosperma spp.
Peruvian Cherry, Cachimbo	Cariniana domesticada
Pradu	?
Pumaquiero	Aspidosperma megalocarpum
Punak, Punah	Tetramerista glabra
Purpleheart	Peltogyne spp.
Pyinkado	Xylia spp., Xylia xylocarpa
Quillobordon	Aspidosperma Vargasii
Radiata Pine (Monterrey Pine)	Pinus radiata
Red Beech	Notofagus fusca
Redland Rose (Angico)	Piptadenia rigida
Rewa Rewa	Knightia excelsa
Rimu	Dacrydium cupressinum
Rokfa	Terminalia aruna
"Rosewood"	Ormosia macrophylla
"Rosewood"	Sirari spp.
Rosewood, Honduran	Dalbergia stevensonii
Royal Mahogany, Southern Merbau	Pithcellobium arboreum
Rubberwood	Hevea brasiliensis
Saligna	Eucalyptus Saligna
Santos Mahogany, Cabreuva	Myroxylon balsamum
Sapele	Entandrophragma cylindricum
Shedua, Mutenye	Guibourtia arnoldiana
Siberian Larch	Larix sibirica
South American Walnut	Paramachaerium Ormosioides
Southern Chestnut	Sweetia panamensis
Sucupira amarella	Ferreirea spectablis
Tali	Erythrophleum guineense
Tamarind	Tamarindus indica. Cojoba arborea? Dialium spp?
Tamarindo, Brazilian Rosewood	Tamarindus indica. Cojoba arborea?
Dialium spp?
Tan Oak	Lithocarpus densiflorus
Taperyva, "Olivewood"	Ferreira spectablis
Tarajyva
Tasmanian Oak, Victorian Ash	Eucalyptus regnans
Tarajyva	Erythrophleum ivorense
Tatajiva, Gingerwood	Clorophora tinctoria
Tauari, Brazilian Oak	Couratari spp.
Tawa	Beilschmiedia tawa
Teak	Tectona Grandis
Tiete Rosewood, Patagonian Cherry	Guibourtia chodatianal
Tigerwood, Goncalo Alves	Astronium spp.
Tobaccowood	Myrocarpus floridosus
Tucan, Peroba Tucan	Aspidosperma Polyneuron
Ulin	Eusideroxylon zwageri?
Victorian Ash, Tasmanian Oak	Eucalyptus regnans
Wenge	Milletia laurentii
Yellowheart, Pau Amarelo	Euxylophora paraensis, Fagraea gracilipes?