Is Maple Considered A Hardwood

Types of wood comparing american hardwoods softwoods and tropical hardwoods.

Is maple considered a hardwood.

Hard maple ought to be considered the king of the acer genus. Maple trees are one of the most common species found in the hardwood forests of north america. The sugar maple tree or acer saccharum is classified as a hard hardwood maple tree. Silver maple red maple and boxelder are soft maples.

Sugar maple s leaves pictured below are the shape that most people associate with maple leaves. Also note that black maple not pictured isn t quite as hard as its close relative hard maple and ranks in the mid range with a hardness of 1 180 lb f. Janka ratings for maple range from 700 for silver maple to 1 180 for black maple. The wood of the sugar maple is strong heavy and hard with a light brown to reddish color.

There are many variations of the species but for practical purposes we separate maples into two types of lumber. The specific gravities of sugar maple and black maple are 0 63 and 0 57 respectively. The texture and density of the wood a tree produces puts it in either the hardwood or softwood category. Maple is considered hardwood.

The wood of soft maple is not as heavy or as strong as that of hard maple. Its wood is stronger stiffer harder and denser than all of the other species. Wood products are known for their natural beauty but when selecting a type of wood for your next cabinetry flooring furniture or millwork project it is important to also consider the level of durability by understanding the difference between wood types. Bigleaf maple is moderately hard.

Other soft hardwoods. Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees which lose their leaves annually like elm or maple. They typically have either 5 or 7 lobes with vivid autumn coloring ranging from yellow to purplish red. Cedar is a softwood.

Taking the hardness data within context of other hardwoods soft maple may be used as a valid substitute for hard maple in most situations where a hardwood of moderate density is called for. The heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce. Soft maple is very similar to hard maple in most respects.

It grows natively in the northeastern regions of the united states and can reach a height of more than 100 feet at maturity.