Balsa Tree Hardwood Softwood

For example balsa wood is one of the lightest least dense woods there is and it s considered a hardwood.

Balsa tree hardwood softwood.

Surprising though it may seem balsa is a hardwood. The wood of some hardwoods for example certain willows and poplars and the softest of. Less parallel their scientific classification. All trees reproduce by producing seeds but the seed structure varies.

The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft. Is balsa a softwood or hardwood tree. The density of dry balsa wood ranges from 40 340 kg m 3 with a typical density around 160 kg m 3. Hardwood trees are angiosperms mostly decidous in the northern hemisphere but evergreens in the southern hemisphere while softwoods are conifers.

Other articles where softwood is discussed. On the other hand if. Hardwood trees are angiosperms plants that produce seeds with some sort of. The terms hardwood and softwood don t relate to the weight or density of the wood but to the tree type.

There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood. The distinction between hardwood and softwood actually has to do with plant reproduction. Hardwoods are also known as broadleaf trees. Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain.

The term hardwood does not refer to the density. Softwoods are conifers and hardwoods are dicotyledons. The designations softwood hardwood and broadleaf however are often imprecise. The actual hardness or density of the wood has little to do with the classification.

It is the softest commercial hardwood. 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. The balsa tree is deciduous and classified as an angiosperm which is the same classification as a hardwood such as an oak tree. 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.

If a tree s seeds have some sort of covering when they fall from the tree be it in the form of a shell or fruit then the wood of that tree will be classified as hardwood. Is balsa a hardwood or a softwood. The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth.