Common Name and Type Genus: Lacewood family, derived from the Protea genus
Distribution: Primarily tropical regions in the Southern Hemisphere
Family Size: Approximately 60-90 genera and 1200-1700 species (with new genera and species still being described)
Notable Genera: This family is the source of the majority of lacewood or silky-oak type woods. Commercial standouts (past and present) include: Cardwellia, Grevillea, Panopsis, and Roupala.
Comments: Although Proteaceae is not known as the “lacewood family” in a botanical sense, from a woodworking perspective, wood from its trees almost always feature very wide, regularly-spaced rays, resulting in prominent ray fleck, especially on quartersawn surfaces.
Another closely-related family (both are in the order Proteales) which also has members that produce wood with a lacewood figure is Platanaceae—whose sole genus is Platanus, the plane (or, in North America, sycamore) genus.
No genus page is available.
This genus is very small and obscure, and only contains four species. Please see the page on dorrigo waratah (Alloxylon pinnatum) for more information.
No genus page available.
This genus only contains one species—Cardwellia sublimis.
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