Having been a woodworker for 30+ years I can ID about 30 -40 on sight. A number of years ago my brother bought me a book called "What wood is that" and it had verbal descriptions of lots of woods but also included small thin veneer type samples of wood. As good as Photos and descriptions are nothing beats the real thing. Of course there is still some variability with in each specie that can add some confusion.
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I know of some folks who "collect" wood as a hobby and here the standard "sample" is a block 6" x 3" x 1/2" These can be purchased from many exotic retailers.
for more info check out the wood collectors society
In addition to the great book KMS mentioned there is also Constantine's "Know Your Woods." One problem, however, is that the sample in hand might be cut on a different plane than the example. Odor and taste (caution here) are also helpful. Not sure of an equivelent in Florida but you might give a call to Highland Hardware here in Atlanta for some other tactics - or go there on the web.
I know of some folks who "collect" wood as a hobby and here the standard "sample" is a block 6" x 3" x 1/2" These can be purchased from many exotic retailers.
for more info check out the wood collectors society
http://www.woodcollectors.org/collect.htm