Satinwood

satinwood, name for a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia. The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellowwood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood of an evergreen (Zanthoxylum flavum) found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies. It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.

---

satinwood

1. a rutaceous tree, Chloroxylon swietenia, that occurs in the East Indies and has hard wood with a satiny texture

2. the wood of this tree, used in veneering, cabinetwork, marquetry, etc.

3. West Indian Satinwood another name for yellowwood

---

satinwood

A hard, fine-grained, pale to golden yellow wood of the gum arabic (acacia gum) tree; esp. used in cabinetwork and decorative paneling.

---

Satinwood 

(Chloroxylon swietenia), a tree of the family Rutaceae. The satinwood grows in arid deciduous forests of India and Sri Lanka. The hard and heavy wood is resistant to fungal disease and insect infestation; it is fragrant and yellow and has a handsome sheen. Satinwood is used in the manufacture of parquet paneling and carved and inlaid furniture. Some other Rutaceae species and species of other families that have shiny wood are sometimes called satinwood.