Padauk is a specie typically of African descent and often grows in dense rainforests located near the Equator. Tough, stable and easy to work with, Padauk is also valued for its decorative qualities. Padauk tends to have orange or reddish hues that tends to oxidize to a more purple-brown color. It is often used for musical instruments, furniture, and flooring.
Palisander-Mexican
This wood is indigenous to the Yucatan Peninsula and is prized for its dramatic, saturated coloring—reddish brown with black, violets, and oranges typically mixed in. The grain is typically straight with some irregularity. It’s a premier choice for high-end furniture and interiors and is highly regarded as a tonewood for marimbas and xylophones, earning its nickname “the wood that sings.”
This is one of the world’s most loved and prized veneers. It ranges in color from lustrous chocolate-brown to purple-black with a cream colored sapwood—all very saturated with a vivid contrast. It has a lively variegated stripe and occasional bee’s wing figure and, when flat cut, produces a characteristic cathedral pattern. Increasingly used as a substitute for the extremely rare but prized Rio rosewood.