Because pencils need wood that is soft enough to sharpen easily — and strong enough not to splinter in your hand — not every tree can do the job.
Early on, pencils were made from eastern red cedar. Its aromatic, reddish wood was prized not only for pencils, but also for chests, fence posts and indigenous medicines.
In the early 1900s, that species became scarcer and more expensive, so pencil manufacturers turned to incense cedar, a tree growing in the western U.S. It’s still used for high-quality pencils.
But today, manufacturers use fast-growing deciduous trees, like our native basswood and poplar. And three species from Southeast Asia are used.
Jelutong trees produce latex that was once added to chewing gum.
Pulai is used both for pencils and for coffins. And Mongolian Pine is a drought-resistant conifer that is grown for pencils — and to stabilize sandy soil.
Although individual pencils are small, they contribute significantly to the world of forest products. About 15 billion pencils are produced annually. A single tree can yield 150,000 of them. That means 100,000 trees are harvested for pencils every year.
So, even in our digital age, one of our most trusted communication tools still begins in a forest.
