Note that a listing generally means that trade of the raw wood, either in log, board, or veneer form, is restricted. On some species, the restriction is even greater, and includes even finished products made of or including a protected wood: one of the most common instances of this is with guitars made of Brazilian Rosewood. In these instances, it is illegal to take such items across international borders without a proper export permit. If you believe that the wood or finished wood product was harvested/made before the date of the CITES listing, you still cannot legally travel with or export the wood unless you have written proof or other evidence that it was obtained before the listing date. If you have the required evidence, and are willing to pay a processing fee and wait 2-3 months for processing, then you may be eligible for a Pre-Convention Certificate. In most cases, importing/exporting raw wood listed on CITES Appendices I or II can be complicated and costly, and in most cases, is neither legal nor encouraged. Some wood is further restricted to include even finished wood products, and in all but the most exceptional cases, is not recommended. If ever in doubt on such complicated issues, be sure to consult proper authorities to get a matter clarified.

• CITES
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service

IUCN

Founded in 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (or IUCN for short) is both the oldest and largest network dealing with global environmental issues. Perhaps most notably for woodworkers, the IUCN publishes what is known as The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Species included on the Red List fall into one of three categories:

Critically Endangered: Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future.

Endangered: Not critically endangered, but still facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

Vulnerable: Not endangered, but still facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.

It should be noted that “the immediate future” here is relative: the IUCN uses the gauge of three generations to determine a species’ rate of depletion. With mammals and other shorter-lived organisms, this tri-generational window may only be a few years or decades. However, since trees can be extremely long-lived, (several decades or even centuries for a single generation), the overall timeline for endangered trees is generally more drawn-out than other endangered species. In addition to the three listed categories above, there are also a few other assessments that the IUCN makes on species:

Near Threatened: Technically doesn’t meet the Red List criteria of a vulnerable or endangered species, but is close to qualifying and/or may qualify in the near future.

Conservation Dependent: Currently the focus of a species or habitat-specific conservation program. Cessation of such conservation programs would shortly result in the species being listed on the Red List.

Data Deficient: Either not enough data to make an accurate assessment, or a species’ listing has been disputed or challenged.

Least Concern: Species that aren’t near threatened, and are not dependent on conservation efforts.

Not Assessed: Obscure or uncommon species may still be unassessed. Absence from the Red List doesn’t always imply safety.

It should also be noted that one unintentional shortcoming of the Red List is that it only considers the risk of extinction; broader issues dealing with habitat destruction or deforestation are not considered. Also, it doesn’t necessarily take into account the maturity of the trees (i.e., centuries-old trees are cut down, and subsequently replanted with younger trees).

Red List Species
Common Name	Scientific Name	IUCN Red List Status
Abura	Mitragyna spp.	Vulnerable
Afrormosia	Pericopsis elata	Endangered
Afzelia	Afzelia spp.	Vulnerable/Endangered
Balau	Shorea spp.	Critically Endangered
Bois de Rose	Dalbergia maritima	Endangered
Bosse	Guarea cedrata	Vulnerable
Brazilwood	Caesalpinia echinata	Endangered
Brownheart	Vouacapoua americana	Critically Endangered
Bubinga	Guibourtia spp.	Endangered
Cedar of Lebanon	Cedrus libani	Vulnerable
Cedar, Port Orford	Chamaecyparis lawsoniana	Vulnerable
Cedar, Spanish	Cedrela odorata	Vulnerable
Cerejeira	Amburana cearensis	Endangered
Chestnut, horse	Aesculus hippocastanum	Vulnerable
Cocobolo	Dalbergia retusa	Vulnerable
Dorrigo waratah	Alloxylon pinnatum	Vulnerable
Ebony, Brown	Caesalpinia paraguariensis	Vulnerable
Ebony, Gaboon	Diospyros crassiflora	Endangered
Ebony, Macassar	Diospyros celebica	Vulnerable
Ebony, Mun	Diospyros mun	Critically Endangered
Elm, Caucasian	Zelkova carpinifolia	Vulnerable
Etimoe	Copaifera salikounda	Vulnerable
Fir, Fraser	Abies fraseri	Endangered (in the wild)
Fir, Spanish	Abies pinsapo	Endangered
Idigbo	Terminalia ivorensis	Vulnerable
Imbuia	Ocotea porosa	Vulnerable
Iroko	Milicia spp.	Vulnerable
Keruing	Dipterocarpus spp.	Critically Endangered
Kauri, East Indian	Agathis dammara	Vulnerable
Kauri, Fijian	Agathis macrophylla	Endangered
Kosipo	Entandrophragma candollei	Vulnerable
Koto	Pterygota macrocarpa	Vulnerable
Lignum Vitae	Guaiacum spp.	Endangered
Mahogany, African	Khaya spp.	Vulnerable
Mahogany, Cuban	Swietenia mahogani	Endangered
Mahogany, Honduran	Swietenia macrophylla	Vulnerable
Makore	Tieghemella heckelii	Endangered
Meranti	Shorea spp.	Critically Endangered
Merbau	Intsia spp.	Vulnerable
Moabi	Baillonella toxisperma	Vulnerable
Monkey Puzzle	Araucaria araucana	Endangered
Narra	Pterocarpus indicus	Vulnerable
Nyatoh	Palaquiuim spp.	Vulnerable
Okoume	Aucoumea klaineana	Vulnerable
Peroba Rosa	Aspidosperma polyneuron	Endangered
Pine, Longleaf	Pinus palustris	Vulnerable
Pine, Norfolk Island	Araucaria heterophylla	Vulnerable
Pine, Parana	Araucaria angustifolia	Critically Endangered
Pine, Sumatran	Pinus merkusii	Vulnerable
Ramin	Gonystylus spp.	Vulnerable
Redwood, coast	Sequoia sempervirens	Endangered
Redwood, dawn	Metasequoia glyptostroboides	Endangered
Rosewood, Brazilian	Dalbergia nigra	Vulnerable
Rosewood, Burmese	Dalbergia oliveri	Endangered
Rosewood, East Indian	Dalbergia latifolia	Vulnerable
Rosewood, Madagascar	Dalbergia baronii	Vulnerable
Rosewood, Siamese	Dalbergia cochinchinensis	Vulnerable
Sapele	Entandrophragma cylindricum	Vulnerable
Satinwood, Ceylon	Chloroxylon swietenia	Vulnerable
Satinwood, West Indian	Zanthoxylum flavum	Vulnerable
Sequoia, giant	Sequoiadendron giganteum	Endangered
Utile	Entandrophragma utile	Vulnerable
Walnut, Claro	Juglans californica	Vulnerable
Walnut, Peruvian	Juglans spp.	Endangered
Wenge	Millettia laurentii	Endangered
Zebrawood	Microberlinia brazzavillensis	Vulnerable

Borderline IUCN Species
Common Name	Scientific Name	IUCN Status
Amendoim	Pterogyne nitens	Near Threatened
Andiroba	Carapa spp.	Endangered (single species)
Anigre	Pouteria spp.	Conservation Dependent
Apple, rough-barked	Angophora floribunda	Near Threatened
Araracanga	Aspidosperma megalocarpon	Near Threatened
Blackwood, African	Dalbergia melanoxylon	Near Threatened
Blackwood, Burmese	Dalbergia cultrata	Near Threatened
Camphor	Cinnamomum spp.	Endangered/Vulnerable (three species)
Coolibah	Eucalyptus coolabah	Near Threatened
Ebiara	Berlinia spp.	Endangered/Vulnerable (three species)
Ebony, Ceylon	Diospyros ebenum	Data Deficient
Greenheart	Chlorocardium rodiei	Data Deficient
Juniper, African	Juniperus procera	Near Threatened
Kempas	Koompassia malaccensis	Conservation Dependent
Keyaki	Zelkova serrata	Near Threatened
Lapacho, pink	Handroanthus impetiginosus	Near Threatened
Macacauba	Platymiscium spp.	Endangered (single species)
Mango	Mangifera indica	Data Deficient
Mesquite, Black	Prosopis nigra	Data Deficient
Muninga	Pterocarpus angolensis	Near Threatened
Opepe	Nauclea diderrichii	Near Threatened
Padauk, Andaman	Pterocarpus dalbergioides	Data Deficient
Pau Ferro	Machaerium spp.	Vulnerable (single species)
Paulownia	Paulownia spp.	Critically Endangered (single species)
Pine, Huon	Lagarostrobos franklinii	Conservation Dependent
Pine, Radiata	Pinus radiata	Conservation Dependent
Pine, Sand	Pinus clausa	Near Threatened
Pistachio	Pistacia vera	Near Threatened
Purpleheart	Peltogyne spp.	Endangered (two species)
Quebracho	Schinopsis spp.	Vulnerable (single species)
Rengas	Gluta spp.	Vulnerable (single species)
Salwood, brown	Acacia aulacocarpa	Near Threatened
Sugi	Cryptomeria japonica	Near Threatened
Teak, Rhodesian	Baikiaea plurijuga	Near Threatened
Verawood	Bulnesia sarmientoi	Conservation Dependent
Walnut, English	Juglans regia	Near Threatened
Yew, Pacific	Taxus brevifolia	Near Threatened

IUCN 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. <https://www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 December 2020.

Are you an aspiring wood nerd?

The poster, Worldwide Woods, Ranked by Hardness, should be required reading for anyone enrolled in the school of wood nerdery. I have amassed over 500 wood species on a single poster, arranged into eight major geographic regions, with each wood sorted and ranked according to its Janka hardness. Each wood has been meticulously documented and photographed, listed with its Janka hardness value (in lbf) and geographic and global hardness rankings. Consider this: the venerable Red Oak (Quercus rubra) sits at only #33 in North America and #278 worldwide for hardness! Aspiring wood nerds be advised: your syllabus may be calling for Worldwide Woods as part of your next assignment!