All wood burns better when seasoned, but some types of wood burn better and provide more heat than others. Below are some tips taken from Piers Warren's book British Native Trees - Their Past and Present Uses:

Apple and pear – burning slowly and steadily with little flame but good heat. The scent is also pleasing.

Ash – the best burning wood providing plenty of heat (will also burn green but you should not need to do this!)

Beech and hornbeam – good when well seasoned

Birch – good heat and a bright flame – burns quickly.

Blackthorn and hawthorn – very good – burn slowly but with good heat

Cherry – also burns slowly with good heat and a pleasant scent.

Cypress – burns well but fast when seasoned, and may spit

Hazel – good, but hazel has so many other uses hopefully you won’t have to burn it!

Holly – good when well seasoned

Horse Chestnut – good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Larch – fairly good for heat but crackles and spits

Maple – good.

Oak – very old dry seasoned oak is excellent, burning slowly with a good heat

Pine – burns well with a bright flame but crackles and spits

Poplar – avoid all poplar wood – it burns very slowly with little heat – which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks.

Willow – very good – in fact there is growing interest in biomass production of coppiced willow as a fuel.