Annual rings border well visible; it is easy to distinguish the earlywood from the latewood; the latewood is darker compared to the earlywood; rays are not visible to the naked eye; possible occurrence of resin canals:

  1. Softwoods

More complex structure; rays and vessels often visible; annual rings borders less distinct in some timbers:

  1. Hardwoods

Sapwood very narrow, yellowish; heartwood dark brown; annual rings narrow and usually undulated; hard and heavy timber:

  • Yew

Sapwood narrow, pinkish; heartwood purplish-brown; distinct odour:

  • Juniper

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Heartwood reddish-brown:

  • Scotch pine

Sapwood very wide, heartwood reddish brown:

  • Austrian pine

Sapwood wide, yellowish; heartwood yellowish-brown; quite great and well visible resin canals; very soft and very light timber:

  • Weymouth pine

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Heartwood dark reddish-brown, sapwood yellowish; very abrupt transition between the earlywood and the latewood:

  • Larch

Sapwood is narrower compared to Scotch pine, but wider compared to larch, yellowish; heartwood orange-brown; the zone of the latewood is usually quite wide:

  • Douglas fir

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Resin canals present; yellowish:

  • Spruce

Resin canals absent; whitish:

  • Fir

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Rays visible on the all surfaces; light radial bands in the latewood; heartwood dark brown:

  • Oak
  1. Rays visible only on the radial surface

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Light tangential wavy bands in the latewood; heartwood light brown to chocolate:

  • Elm

Light dots in the latewood; heartwood yellowish-green, sapwood very narrow; hard and heavy:

  • False acacia

Whitish colour; in old trees dark brown heartwood:

  • Ash

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Heartwood dark reddish-brown with violet shade, sapwood pinkish:

  • Plum

Heartwood is reddish-brown, often with greenish streaks; sapwood pinkish:

  • Cherry

Heartwood greyish-black, sapwood greyish-white; vessels well visible to the naked eye:

  • Walnut

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Pink colour; rays appear on the tangential surface as short dark lines; hard and medium heavy; possible occurrence of the false heartwood:

  • Beech

Orange colour; frequent occurrence of the pith flecks; soft and light:

  • Alder

Annual rings undulated (transverse surface); whitish colour with grey shade; very hard and heavy:

  • Hornbeam

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Frequent occurrence of the pith flecks; whitish colour:

  • Birch

Whitish to pinkish colour; lustrous; medium hard and medium heavy:

  • Maple

Soft and light; whitish to yellowish colour; characteristic odour:

  • Lime

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Heartwood less distinct; heartwood yellowish-red or yellowish-brown, sometimes with greenish shade; soft and light; usually wide annual rings:

  • Poplar
  • Willow

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