Is It Hardwood Or Softwood

And while generally speaking the average hardwood is a good deal harder and more durable than the average softwood there are examples of deciduous hardwoods that are much softer than the hardest softwoods.

Is it hardwood or softwood.

Hardwood comes from angiosperm or flowering plants such as oak maple or walnut that are not monocots. Let s define softwood as any pine or fir species including cedar and everything else as hardwood. 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. The most common hardwood species available in north america retailers are.

Hardwood trees take a longer time to grow than softwood trees. 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. Hardwood originates from deciduous trees that shed leaves during winter. Oak maple walnut cherry and poplar.

However just because the tree is classified as a hardwood doesn t necessarily make it the best choice. When purchased by the cord 128 cubic feet hardwood will produce more btu s british thermal units than a similar cord of softwood. 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.

On the other hand softwood comes from coniferous trees which we call evergreens. 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.