Species

Each of type of wood offers different attributes, and selecting the right species involves weighing pros and cons across various characteristics, including appearance, stability, hardness, and cost. Unfortunately, no species is beautiful, stable, hard as a rock, and inexpensive. 

Choosing the right species also involves understanding how a species will wear visually. Just because it’s harder doesn’t mean it will resist wear and tear better than a softer species. For example, Maple is harder than Oak, but its fine grain texture makes dings and scratches very visible, whereas the coarse grain structure of Oak tends to hide scratches much better. Similarly, a wood with plenty of knots and natural character will help hide wear and tear better than a clean, high-grade wood with little character. (See below to learn more about GRADE.)

When it comes to coloring, some species lend themselves to staining and other color treatments better than others. Open-pore woods like Oaks, Walnut, and Hickory readily accept stains, whereas a fine grain wood like Maple is difficult to stain without it looking splotchy. Additionally, some wood species contain natural tannins that can be manipulated via fuming or ‘reactive stains’ to create gorgeous natural colors and antique effects. This is one reason European Oak has become so popular in recent years, and why you will see so many European Oak options in the Monarch Plank product offering.  European Oak has relatively consistent, high tannin content, making it suitable for a variety of beautiful coloring techniques that are not possible with other woods.

The natural color of the species also determines the range of colors that are possible. You generally won’t find white or light gray flooring made with dark wood species like Walnut because achieving a light color on Walnut requires either expensive chemical treatments or heavy layers of pigment that would obscure the natural beauty that makes the species so precious. Similarly, reddish colored woods like Red Oak and Brazilian Cherry generally aren’t used to create cool, neutral colors because controlling the red requires too much pigment. This is another reason for the popularity of European Oak – its light, neutral color is ideally suited for making the colors that are most sought after today.

FRENCH AND WESTERN EUROPEAN OAK:

European oak is famous for its unique and attractive natural color and distinctive grain structure. Its durability, coloration and tannin content make it an ideal canvas for application of our various finishes. It is also relatively abundant so, when sourced responsibly from Western European countries where illegal logging is not rampant, it is a superior environmental choice to many other imported woods. Untreated European Oak tends to yellow as it ages, whereas Fumed or Carbonized European Oak tends to fade and move closer to its original natural color.  (More About Oak)

WHITE OAK

White Oak is similar to European Oak, except that it tends to be more yellow in color, with a bigger, more open grain structure. This less tight grain structure is due to the fact that the trees typically grow at lower latitudes (and therefore faster) than European Oak trees. Depending on the region of the U.S. that it comes from, White Oak can also have some pink tones and significant color variation. White Oak is lower and less consistent in tannin content than European Oak, making it unsuitable for fuming/smoking and reactive staining techniques. White Oak is the same hardness as European Oak, and tends to yellow with age in a similar way.

RED OAK

A North American classic, Red Oak is similar to White Oak except that, as its name suggests, it is much more red in color, especially when freshly cut. As it ages, Red Oak tends to mellow to a warm pinkish beige color.  Red Oak is slightly softer than European Oak or White Oak, but still makes for a very durable floor.

JAPANESE OAK (NARA)

Very similar to European Oak, but with an even more neutral, less yellow color, Japanese Oak is offered as flooring in the U.S. exclusively by Monarch Plank. Japanese Oak is the same hardness as European Oak and White Oak.

AMERICAN WALNUT

The most prized American hardwood. Used widely in high end furniture and veneer, Walnut has a distinct and undeniably beautiful grain structure, along with a gorgeous, rich, dark brown color. Walnut is among the softer hardwoods. Walnut’s rich dark color has a tendency to fade and amber as it ages, particularly when exposed to direct sunlight.

JAPANESE WALNUT (KURUMI)

Japanese Walnut, a close relative to our American Walnut, is indistinguishable from its American cousin in grain structure and hardness, but is lighter and a bit more varied in color, similar to European Walnut.

HICKORY

The most varied and distinct of our species offerings, Hickory flooring is recognized for the dramatic range of light to dark tones that appear within a single plank. Hickory is the hardest of the widely-used North American hardwoods. As it ages, the variation in Hickory tends to become more muted, as the more extreme red, orange and white hues give way to a slightly more uniform range of yellows, beiges and browns.

ALPINE ASH

Alpine Ash, one of the species commonly sold in a group that is referred to as Tasmanian Oak, is actually a species of Eucalyptus from the highlands of Tasmania. It is the same hardness as European Oak and American White Oak. The tree’s unique structure allows us to cut the lumber in the sought-after “riftsawn” cut, which results in flooring with a distinctive linear grain pattern. (More on Alpine Ash) Alpine Ash is notable for the presence of dark gum streaks that follow the linear grain of the wood.

JAPANESE CHESTNUT (KURI)

Chestnut has always been treasured for its rot resistance, beautiful Walnut-like grain and figure, and rich caramel color. North American Chestnut was largely wiped out by a blight, making it virtually impossible to find. Its close relative, Japanese Chestnut (Kuri), a staple of traditional Japanese woodworking, remains abundant in Japan and we offer exclusive access to it as a hardwood floor for the US market. Chestnut is similar in hardness to Walnut. As it ages, the wood darkens slightly, maturing to a rich caramel light brown.

TEAK

Genuine Teak (Tectona grandis) has always been one of the most sought-after hardwoods on Earth, prized for its rich color and grain, superior dimensional stability, and unparalleled rot resistance. So precious is Teak that wars have been fought over access to it in the tropical forests of SE Asia. Now difficult to find from legal sources and often very expensive, we offer Teak grown exclusively on long-rotation plantations in the mountains of Thailand that are certified by the international, non-profit Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). A little bit harder than Walnut but not as hard as Oak, the color of Teak darkens and becomes warmer with age.

For additional information on other species and technical data please click here: