"Michael Faurot" wrote in message
...
This question pertains to what's available from North American wood
dealers. This may well be a naive question, but why is it that
there doesn't seem to be much available in terms of other North
American trees such as Elm, Sycamore, Willow, Birch (not counting
plywood), Beech, etc.?

Or to phrase the question a different way, why is Cherry, Walnut, Oak,
Poplar, Maple, etc. what's predominately available?

It is not economically viable to to sell the others. There isn't much
available and little demand. So, it would be expensive with no one buying
it at all.
I bought a quantity of Viraro from an importer closing it out. Beautiful
wood, but nobody ever heard of it, so he couldn't sell it. Same idea with
Beech. Do you want to buy a beech table or a maple table? They look about
the same and around here beech is much cheaper, if you can find it, because
no one wants it.