Common wood species

Most of the timber species that we come across at Turnaround Timbers are hardwoods and most are Australian eucalypts. Below is a guide to the common species.

Because it can be hard to identify wood accurately without seeing the original tree, sometimes we might answer the question, "what wood is this?" with a cheeky:

"Eucalyptus ergonescio" (latin for "I don't know").

Eucalypts

  • Spotted gum

    Corymbia maculata, Corymbia citriodora, and Corymbia henryi.

    (NB: These species used to be classified eucalyptus).

  • Blackbutt

    Eucalyptus pilularis

  • Jarrah

    Eucalyptus marginata

  • Bluegum

    Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney blue gum) and Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum).

  • Tallowwood

    Eucalyptus microcorys

  • Rose gum

    Eucalyptus grandis

  • Spotted gum

    Corymbia maculata, Corymbia citriodora, and Corymbia henryi.

    (NB: These species used to be classified eucalyptus).

  • Blackbutt

    Eucalyptus pilularis

  • Jarrah

    Eucalyptus marginata

  • Bluegum

    Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney blue gum) and Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum).

  • Tallowwood

    Eucalyptus microcorys

  • Rose gum

    Eucalyptus grandis

  • Tasmanian oak

    Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash), Eucalyptus delegatensis (alpine ash), and Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate).

    (See also Stringybark and Messmate).

  • Messmate

    Eucalyptus obliqua

    (see also Stringybark and Tasmanian oak).

  • Stringybark

    Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate stringybark or Tasmanian oak), Eucalyptus muelleriana (yellow stringybark), and Eucalyptus eugenioides (white stringybark).

    (See also Messmate and Tasmanian oak).

  • Karri

    Eucalyptus diversicolor

  • Ironbark

    Eucalyptus sideroxylons or Eucalyptus tricarpa (red ironbark), Eucalyptus paniculata (grey ironbark).

  • Silvertop ash

    Eucalyptus sieberi

Other woods

  • Brush box

    Lophostemon confertus

  • Cypress pine

    Callitris glaucophylla

  • Australian red cedar

    Toona ciliata

  • Silky oak

    Grevillea robusta

  • Tasmanian blackwood

    Acacia melanoxylon

  • Blackbean

    Castanospermum australe

  • Oregon (douglas fir)

    From North America

    Pseudotsuga menziesii

  • Meranti (pacific maple)

    Refers to a large group of species from Indonesia and the Philippines all from the Shorea genus.

  • Western red cedar

    Thuja plicata

These images are from flooring company websites. We hope they don't mind. We are deeply grateful.

wood library