The European Standard EN 350-2 from 1994 is under revision. An updating is crucially needed when comparing the timbers on the European market and the timbers described in this standard, especially when considering the tropical timbers. This brief paper gives an overview of the changes, as well the "new timber species" from tropical areas that were proposed by the CIRAD. The example of Grapia (Apuleia leiocarpa), a Brazilian timber, is taken to underline the difficulty of this task.