Modern and Contempary Menorahs

Ebony: (Diospyros ebenum), also known as India Ebony or Ceylon Ebony depending on its origin, is a tree in the genus Diospyros, native to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is noted for its heavy black, fine-grained heartwood. It is a medium-sized evergreen, reaching 20–25 m tall. The leaves are entire, about 6–15 cm long and 3–5 cm broad. The fruit is a small berry 2 cm diameter, similar to a small persimmon. Ebony heartwood is one of the most intensely black woods known, which, combined with its very high density (it is one of the very few woods that sink in water), fine texture, and ability to polish very smoothly, has made it very valuable as an ornamental wood.

Bubinga: Guibourtia is a plant genus of the family Fabaceae (legume family). It contains 16 to 17 species in tropical Africa. They are known to produce chalconoids (chalcones), relatives of medically important chemicals called stilbenes, one famous one being resveratrol.
The genus is well-known for its luxury timbers. The best-known timber is bubinga (Guibourtia demeusei, aka kevazingo). Another is ovangkol. Species of Guibourtia also produce Congo copal.
Uses
Bubinga wood is often used by luthiers for harps and other instruments, such as bass guitars, because of its mellow and well-rounded sound. It has been used in drum shells as well. Drum companies such as Tama offer various high-end drum kits with plies of Bubinga in the shells[1].

Bubinga is sometimes used in the production of Archery Bows. In particular as the main wood of the handle in some flatbows.

Bubinga is also used in furniture making, usually for tables, as large slabs of the dense wood can be cut, and with very little manipulation, be used for a table top.

Goncalo Alves: (in Portuguese Gonçalo Alves or Gonçaleiro) sometimes referred to as zebrawood or tigerwood — names that underscore the wood’s often dramatic, contrasting color scheme, that some compare to rosewood. While the sapwood is very light in color, the heartwood is a sombre brown, with dark streaks that give it a unique look. The wood’s color deepens with exposure and age and even the plainer-looking wood has a natural luster.

Three species are usually listed as sources for gonçalo alves: Astronium fraxinifolium, Astronium graveolens, and Astronium lecointei. All trees grow in neotropical forests. In addition, Brazil is a major exporter of these woods.

Jatobá: (Hymenaea courbaril), is a tree common to the Caribbean, Central, and South America and Brazil. It is a hardwood that is used for furniture, flooring and decorative purposes.

Although Jatoba is sometimes referred to as Brazilian or South American Cherry, it is not a cherry tree and it is in no way, botanically or otherwise related to Black Cherry (prunus serotina), a very common American hardwood. Jatoba is also know as South American Locust, stinking toe (because of the smell of it's seed pods), Brazilian copal and various other names.

Jatoba produces an orange, resinous, sticky gum that converts to Amber through a remarkable chemical process that requires millions of years. Amber of million-year-old Hymenaea trees have provided scientists with many clues to its prehistoric presence on earth as well as to the insects and other plants encased in it. (As shown in the Jurassic Park movies)

Jatoba is a very hard wood measuring 5.6 on the Brinell scale or 2350 lbf on the Janka scale, approximate measurements of hardness. For comparison, Douglas Fir measures 660 lbf, White Oak 1360 lbf, and Brazilian Walnut 3800 lbf on the Janka scale.

Jatoba features a tan/salmon color with black accent stripes that over time turns to a deep rich red color. Hardness rating: 2350

Mahogany: is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood, originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban Mahogany. It was later used also for the wood of Swietenia macrophylla, which is closely related, and known as Belize Mahogany. Today, all species of Swietenia are listed by CITES, and are therefore protected. Species of Swietenia cross readily when they grow in proximity, the hybrid between S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla is widely planted. Mahogany is also the national tree of Belize.

The name "mahogany" is also commonly used to refer to the African genus Khaya (closely related to Swietenia), hence the term African Mahogany.

"Mahoganies" may refer to the wider group of all the timbers yielded by the three related genera Swietenia, Khaya and Entandrophragma. The timbers of Entandrophragma are traded under their individual names, sometimes with "mahogany" attached as a suffix, for example "sipo" may be referred to as "sipo mahogany".

Olivewood: Several trees in the Garden of Gethsemane (from the Hebrew words "gat shemanim" or oil press) in Jerusalem are claimed to date back 2000 years. Some Italian olive trees are believed to date back to Roman times, although identifying progenitor trees in ancient sources is difficult.

However, the age of an olive tree in Crete, claimed to be over 2,000 years old, has been determined on the basis of tree ring analysis.[5] Another, on the island of Brijuni (Brioni), Istria in Croatia, a well-known olive tree has been calculated to be about 1,600 years old. It still gives fruit (about 30 kg per year), which is made into top quality olive oil. The olive tree is one of the symbols of Athena, the Greek goddess, and is frequently mentioned in the Bible.

Padauk: (or padouk) is a name for any of a group of timbers from the pantropical genus Pterocarpus. Not all wood from Pterocarpus-species qualifies as a padauk, some species don't yield timber at all, some yield a non-padauk wood. All padauks are of Asian or African origin. Padauks are valued for their toughness, stability in use, and decorativeness, most having a reddish wood.

The padauk found most often in the trade is African padauk from Pterocarpus soyauxii which, when freshly cut, is a very bright red but when exposed to sunlight fades over time to a warm brown. Its color makes it a favorite among woodworkers. Burmese padauk is Pterocarpus macrocarpus while Andaman padauk is Pterocarpus dalbergioides. Padauks can be confused with rosewoods with whom they are somewhat related but as a general rule padauks are coarser and are somewhat less decorative in figure.

Padauk is laterally regard as the "National flower" of Myanmar Nationals. In Myanmar, padauk mostly blossom in April, around the Myanmar traditional new year, so it is highly valued by most of Myanmar Nationals, especially ladies.

Some African padauks were said to be used by local women as antiperspirants when rubbed onto the skin. This particular timber was called "barwood", most likely a species closely connected to Pterocarpus soyauxii.

Rosewood: refers to a number of richly hued timbers, brownish with darker veining. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for flooring, furniture, turnery, musical instruments, and chess sets (the black pieces). In general, supplies are poor through overexploitation. Some species become canopy trees (to 30 m high), and big pieces can occasionally be found in the trade.

Walnut: (genus Juglans) are plants in the family Juglandaceae. They are deciduous trees, 10 - 40 metres tall (about 30-130 ft.), with pinnate leaves 200 - 900 millimetres long (about 7-35 inches), with 5 - 25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts (Pterocarya) but not the hickories (Carya) in the same family.

The 21 species in the genus range across the north temperate Old World from southeast Europe east to Japan, and more widely in the New World from southeast Canada west to California and south to Argentina. The Latin name Juglans derives from Jovis glans, "Jupiter's acorn": figuratively, a nut fit for a god.

The word walnut derives from Old English wealhhnutu, literally "foreign nut", wealh meaning "foreign" (wealh is akin to the terms Welsh and Vlach; see *Walha and History of the term Vlach).[1] The walnut was so called because it was introduced from Gaul and Italy. The previous Latin name for the walnut was nux Gallica, "Gallic nut".

Menorahs