Kentucky Wood Products

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Appalachian Tree Species

Get to know the trees behind familiar wood names. These profiles connect botanical identity, regional habitat, identification and wood characteristics.

This library is a reference to trees and wood. Inclusion does not establish current inventory, dimensions, grade or availability.

Hardwoods

Hardwoods come from flowering trees, including oaks. The term is a botanical grouping, not a promise that every hardwood is harder than every softwood.

  • Black Walnut

    Juglans nigra

    Black Walnut is a native hardwood with compound leaves, large husked nuts and brown heartwood. Its wood is used for furniture, cabinetry and interior woodwork.

  • Northern Red Oak

    Quercus rubra

    Northern Red Oak is a Kentucky hardwood with pointed leaf lobes and shallow-capped acorns. Its timber belongs to the broader commercial red-oak group.

  • Shagbark Hickory

    Carya ovata

    Shagbark Hickory is a Kentucky hardwood known for long, peeling bark plates and husked nuts. It is one of several species sold within the broader commercial hickory resource.

  • Sugar Maple

    Acer saccharum

    Sugar Maple is a hardwood of eastern North America with opposite, lobed leaves and dense wood used in flooring and furniture. In commerce it belongs to the hard-maple group.

  • White Oak

    Quercus alba

    A guide to White Oak (Quercus alba): recognizing the tree, understanding its wood and keeping botanical identity separate from commercial White Oak requirements.

  • Yellow-Poplar

    Liriodendron tulipifera

    Yellow-Poplar is a tall Appalachian hardwood recognized by its broad, notched leaves and tulip-like flowers. It supplies wood for furniture, cabinetry and interior millwork.

Softwoods

Softwoods come from conifers, including cedars and pines. The grouping describes the tree, rather than a universal measure of wood hardness.

  • Eastern Redcedar

    Juniperus virginiana

    Eastern Redcedar is an evergreen conifer with scale-like foliage, berry-like seed cones and aromatic wood. It is a softwood, and it is the species KY Wood Products means when discussing Cedar lumber.

  • Eastern White Pine

    Pinus strobus

    Eastern White Pine is an evergreen softwood with flexible needles in bundles of five. Its lightweight wood is used in paneling, interior woodwork and other lumber products.

Common Names and Commercial Groups

Wood buying and botanical names do not always map one-to-one. In our commercial terminology, Poplar refers to Yellow-Poplar or Tulip Poplar, and Cedar refers to Eastern Redcedar. Hickory is a commercial group. White Oak may also describe a group broader than Quercus alba. Discuss exact species requirements when making an inquiry.

Sources / Further Reading

  1. Wood Handbook — Commercially Important Timbers

    USDA Forest Products Laboratory · 2021 · Chapter 2