Throughout the South some 49 billion cubic feet of small, low-quality hardwoods are growing on southern pine sites[1] (Staff, For. Resour. Res. Work Unit 1976). This material is usually wasted; if the site is prepared for regeneration to pine, the hardwoods there are destroyed. Research is underway to find economical methods of harvesting and utilizing these hardwoods. The descriptions, key, and illustrations in this book should help wood utilization researchers, especially those new to the South, to identify the most prevalent hardwood species on southern pine sites (Table 1). Table 1.—_Important hardwoods on southern pine sites, ranked according to percentage of total hardwood volume_ Percentages were derived from Staff, For. Resour. Res. Work Unit (1976). Nomenclature used herein follows Little (1953). _Species_ _Percent_ Sweetgum _Liquidambar styraciflua_ L. 13.2 White oak _Quercus alba_ L. 12.3 Hickory _Carya_ spp. 8.5 Southern red oak _Quercus falcata_ Michx. 8.1 Post oak _Quercus stellata_ Wangenh. 7.0 Yellow-poplar _Liriodendron tulipifera_ L. 7.0 Black tupelo _Nyssa sylvatica_ Marsh. 5.5 Water oak _Quercus nigra_ L. 4.7 Black oak _Quercus velutina_ Lam. 4.0 Scarlet oak _Quercus coccinea_ Muenchh. 3.6 Red maple _Acer rubrum_ L. 3.6 Chestnut oak _Quercus prinus_ L. 2.9 Northern red oak _Quercus rubra_ L. 2.4 Laurel oak _Quercus laurifolia_ Michx. 1.4 Elm _Ulmus_ spp. 1.4 Cherrybark oak _Quercus falcata_ var. _pagodaefolia_ Ell. 1.2 Ash _Fraxinus_ spp. .9 Sweetbay _Magnolia virginiana_ L. .6 Shumard oak _Quercus shumardii_ Buckl. .2 Hackberry _Celtis_ spp. .1 Other hardwoods including blackjack oak (_Quercus 11.4 marilandica_ Muenchh.) Total hardwoods 100.0