Acacias & Koa

Acacia is a huge genus of trees found from Australia and Hawaii to Africa and Southeast Asia, and several of its members make outstanding furniture wood. Koa, the Hawaiian acacia, is famous for its glowing curly figure and is a top tonewood for ukuleles and guitars. Australian blackwood is a close relative with similar figure and a darker, chocolate color. Plantation acacia from Asia shows up in a lot of furniture and in the cross-cut rounds we sell for side tables. We also group two cousins here. Mesquite, the tough wood of the Southwest, belongs to the same branch of the pea family. Black locust is often sold as acacia in Europe, and its yellow-green wood is one of the most rot-resistant in North America. Hardness and durability vary a lot across this group, so check each species page below before you build, especially for outdoor work.