Hardwood Impostors

QTOCKING for hardwood lumber, \)floorine or cabinetrv? Beware. warns the -domestic hariwood trade group Hardwood Manufacturers Association, Pittsburgh, Pa. Some imported woods are masquerading as traditional homegrown favorites like oak, cherry or maple.

ask whether a species is domestic or imported. It's a simple question, but if you don't ask, you may be dismayed."

America's temperate climates produce forests with hundreds of hardwood species-providing a well-managed, renewable and sustainable source for natural, beautiful and durable floors, furniture and cabinets. Non-native woods often are marketed here with names that play on the rich heritage of American hardwoods like oak, cherry or maple.

projects," he says.

"Don't be fooled," says Susan Regan, executive director of HMA's American Hardwood Information Center, at www.hardwoodinfo.com. "You have to be very careful and ask questions to make sure you're really getting what you want."

For example, so-called "Tasmanian oak" is not oak at all. It's eucalyptus from Down Under. "Brazilian cherry" isn't cherry either, and "Malaysian oak" actually is rubberwood from tropical rubber tree plantations.

"It's confusing," says Joe Boone Jr., chief executive officer of Internet retailer WoodFloorsOnline.com. "You have to do your homework and

The Pseudo Species

Chilean cherry cherry

Brazilian cherry cherry

Brazilian maple maple

Patagonian maple

Tasmanian oak

Rose rivergum gum

Malaysian oak oak

Australian heritage oak oak

Australian

Regan says it's not surprising imported woods adopt the names of American favorites. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. "If our native-grown oak, maple and cherry aren't perceived as the standard," she asks, "why would others 'borrow' their names?"

When in doubt about the true identity of any wood, check the species' botanical name, suggests Regis Miller, a botanist with the Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

The botanical name for a real oak tree, for example, will contain the word Quercr.rs, which means "a fine tree" in Latin. Review the species guide at www.hardwoodinfo.com for botanical names, descriptions and lore about major hardwood species found in the temperate forests of the United States.

Time-honored

American woods often are most desirable for traditional homes, Boone notes. He suggests homeowners may want a kitchen floor that complements their cherry or maple cabinets.

Seattle. Wa.. architect Stephen Bobbitt calls American hardwoods a classic. Maple beautifully complements the most updated looks, and white oak is at home in any setting. "You can use it in contemporary or traditional

Tomas Moreno, a designer for furniture maker Swartzendruber Hardwood Creations, Goshen, In., loves the "flakes" in the grain patterns of the quarter-sawn white oak that is a hallmark of the American turn-of-the-century Prairie and Arts & Crafts schools of architecture.

"Sometimes the flakes look like ripples from a pond emanating from one spot," he says. "Sometimes they almost look like tiger stripes. This wood is part of our heritage in the United States. It helps make our furniture true to form."

The color, grain pattern, hardness and luster of many imports differ from those of American hardwoods. Miller notes. "If you want the color and grain of American cherry, you have to buy American cherry," he says.

Some contractors unaccustomed to working with imported wood make more mistakes when installing exotic species, Miller says. "We have much more experience with our native species," he says.

Nena Donovan Levine, a kitchen designer and owner of N Design Inc., West Hartford. Ct.. also loves the diverse grains found in American hardwoods. "I like the ability to achieve a variety of colors, and the grain variations you get in one floor," she says. She especially admires what she calls the "rich, sensual" grain of cherry. "It's so inviting to the touch," she adds.

Miller agrees: "When you look at cherry in furniture or flooring, you always see a bit of sapwood here and there. I like that, and I always look for it. Cherry has such a distinctive growth ring and grain."