Is It Hardwood Or Softwood

Let s define softwood as any pine or fir species including cedar and everything else as hardwood.

Is it hardwood or softwood.

However just because the tree is classified as a hardwood doesn t necessarily make it the best choice. Hardwood originates from deciduous trees that shed leaves during winter. Hardwood trees take a longer time to grow than softwood trees. When purchased by the cord 128 cubic feet hardwood will produce more btu s british thermal units than a similar cord of softwood.

The most common hardwood species available in north america retailers are. This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a hardwood that is softer than softwoods. Wood is generally categorized as either softwood or hardwood and it is a common misconception that softwood is soft and workable while hardwood is hard and durable. From angiosperm or flowering plants such as oak maple or walnut that are not monocots the hardwood is formed by these while from gymnosperm trees usually evergreen conifers like pine or spruce the softwood is formed.

Hardwood comes from angiosperm or flowering plants such as oak maple or walnut that are not monocots. However this is not what qualifies a piece of wood as either soft or hard. Hardwood vs softwood is the comparison between them and comes down to its physical structure and makeup and as being hard and durable compared to softwood it is overly simplistic to think of hardwoods and softwood is also workable. An example is balsa a hardwood that is quite soft when compared to the wood from yew trees which is quite durable and hard.

These trees will not shed their leaves during winter and they bear cones or uncovered seeds that fall to the ground and germinate. Oak maple walnut cherry and poplar.