Classifying wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical structure and makeup and so it is overly simple to think of hardwoods as being hard and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods.
Which trees are hardwood and softwood.
Informally trees categorized as hardwoods are usually deciduous meaning they lose their leaves in the autumn.
The hardwood softwood distinction is a general designation and does not literally refer to the hardness of the wood since some conifers have harder wood than certain hardwoods.
On the other hand softwood conifers do not pass the winter with bare branches.
Although sometimes old needles.
The seeds of hardwood trees will have a shell.
A few simple tests help you differentiate hardwood from softwood trees.
Hardwood trees take a longer time to grow than softwood trees.
Hardwoods tend to be slower growing and are therefore usually more dense.
Wikimedia commons coming to the reproductive description in botanical terms softwood trees are gymnosperms whereas hardwood trees are angiosperms.
Softwood is primarily used in construction framing the production of pulpwood for paper and other items such as fiberboard plywood and particleboard.
Botanical difference between hardwood and softwood gymnosperms and angiosperms image.
Timber from softwood trees has various uses such as furniture building components christmas trees paper etc.
Softwood trees are known as a gymnosperm.
Softwood trees have medullary rays and tracheids and when observed under a microscope they do not appear to have pores like hardwoods.
This is a list of woods most commonly used in the timber and lumber trade.
The conifers such as pines firs and redwoods contrasted with the hardwood or deciduous trees.
One of the botanical groups of trees that in most cases have needle like or scale like leaves.
In reality the technical distinction has to do with the reproductive biology of the species.
In general hardwood comes from a deciduous tree which loses its leaves annually and softwood comes from a conifer which usually remains evergreen.
Distinctions between hardwood and softwood.
Timber from hardwood trees on the other hand is commonly used for applications such as high quality furniture high value construction projects flooring and decks.
From angiosperm trees that are not monocots and usually broad leaved and has vessel elements that transport water throughout the wood hardwood is formed and these elements appear as pores under a microscope.
Hardwood information specifies that hardwood trees are deciduous.
All trees reproduce by producing seeds but the seed structure varies.