[Daren]

My first guess would be Aspen

I watched a show on Discovery or someplace and they where making them from aspen. I doubt they are exclusively made from aspen, but I think the majority are...I don't understand the question Martin. I have seen crazy (when I say crazy I mean I would not have the patience) projects made from match sticks, furniture-models-heck even a car, here's a link

 

[Daren]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_a_matchstick_work

The Manufacturing Process:

" Logs of white pine or aspen are clamped in a debarking machine and slowly rotated while spinning blades cut away the outer bark of the tree."
....