Wood Species Guide: groups
Cherries & Fruitwoods
Fruit and nut trees often make some of the most beautiful wood, they just come in smaller pieces. Black cherry is the classic American furniture wood, with a fine, even grain and a salmon color that deepens to a rich red-brown with light and time. Southwest Florida adds its own fruitwoods to the mix: mango, lychee, tamarind, mulberry and sea grape all grow here, and when backyard and grove trees come down the wood can be striking, with spalting, curl and deep color. Olivewood brings the swirling grain that makes it a favorite for kitchen utensils and turned pieces. Many fruitwoods move a lot as they dry and some carry sap that bothers sensitive skin, so dry them slowly and check the safety notes on each species. Open the pages below for hardness, finishing tips and the pieces we have in our Fort Myers shop.
13 species in this group, 1 in stock now.
- Black CherryIn stockPrunus serotina Black cherry is the wood that gets better with age: pale pink when cut, deep reddish brown after a few seasons of light. It has a...
- AppleMalus domestica and related Malus species Apple is a dense, fine-grained fruitwood with warm pinkish-brown heartwood. It comes in small pieces from orchards and is a favorite for spoons, handles and turnings.
- Java PlumSyzygium cumini Java plum is a fast-growing Asian fruit tree that has become a Category I invasive across central and South Florida. Its wood is little known in...
- LycheeLitchi chinensis Lychee is a South Florida fruit tree whose hard, reddish wood is mostly seen as root and stump pieces. Those twisting roots make striking sculptural bases...
- MangoMangifera indica Mango is a South Florida backyard favorite and a surprisingly good hardwood once the fruit is done. It spalts quickly, giving golden boards streaked with black...
- OlivewoodOlea europaea Olivewood is hard, heavy and loaded with dark swirling figure on a creamy background. It is the classic wood for heirloom cutting boards, turned pieces and...
- PearPyrus communis Pear is a fine, even-grained European fruitwood with a soft rosy tone. Carvers, turners and instrument makers prize it for how crisply it holds detail.
- PlumPrunus domestica Plum is a hard, heavy fruitwood with streaks of pink, purple and red that make every turning a little different. It only comes in small pieces,...
- Red MulberryMorus rubra Red mulberry is a hard, golden American wood that grows wild across Florida and darkens to a warm reddish brown with age. It is tough, rot...
- SapodillaManilkara zapota Sapodilla, sold as lumber under the name chicozapote, is a very hard, heavy, rot-resistant red wood from a tropical fruit tree. In South Florida it is...
- Sea GrapeCoccoloba uvifera Sea grape is the round-leaf shrub of Florida's beaches. Its hard, reddish wood is too small and crooked for tables but makes beautiful turnings and keepsakes.
- Sweet CherryPrunus avium Sweet cherry is Europe's cherry, a fine-grained fruitwood with a warm pinkish brown color that deepens with time. It is a little harder than American black...
- TamarindTamarindus indica Tamarind is a tropical fruit tree with a pale sapwood that spalts beautifully and a small, dark heartwood core. It is heavy and stubborn to work...
Not sure which wood fits your project?
Walk the racks with us in Fort Myers. We'll show you the slabs and boards side by side and talk through hardness, finish and budget.