# Wood species for flooring

Source page: https://www.misterendgrain.com/species/
Updated: 2026-11-03

The species sets most of what you will live with on a wood floor: its colour and how that colour changes with light, how readily it dents, how much it moves with the seasons, and how it takes oil, lacquer or a colour treatment. Each profile below brings together published data for one timber, with a key-facts table and links to every source used.

## How to compare species

- **Hardness**: the Janka figure gives a rough guide to dent resistance. See the [hardness chart](https://www.misterendgrain.com/hardness-chart/) for every species side by side, and [what the Janka test measures](https://www.misterendgrain.com/guides/janka-hardness-explained/) for its limits.
- **Stability**: some timbers move more than others as humidity changes. That matters for wide boards, glue-down installs and [underfloor heating](https://www.misterendgrain.com/guides/underfloor-heating/).
- **Construction**: an [engineered board](https://www.misterendgrain.com/flooring/engineered-wood/) puts a top layer of the species over a stable core, which can make a less stable species practical.
- **Finish**: species react differently to [finishes and colour treatments](https://www.misterendgrain.com/guides/wood-floor-finishes/). Some woods rich in tannin, such as oak, darken markedly when fumed.

Use the region filter to narrow the list, or the A–Z index to find a species by its common or scientific name. Trade names vary from country to country, so each profile lists the other names a timber is sold under.

## Coverage

We start with the species most widely sold as flooring and add more over time. Each profile shows the date it was last checked against its sources. Spotted something that needs correcting? Let us know through the [contact page](https://www.misterendgrain.com/contact/).