Is Pine A Soft Or Hardwood

According to the university of tennessee agricultural extension service woods are classified as hardwood or softwood not based on their durability but based on the type of tree and the structure of its wood.

Is pine a soft or hardwood.

North american softwood species have needle shaped foliage instead of the leaves found on hardwood trees. Were really confused because not only did they find the super light hardwood species basswood and cottonwood but they found some of the continent s heaviest softwood of which four species longleaf slash shortleaf and loblolly pine are now marketed under the unifying moniker of southern yellow. Softwoods come from conifer trees or cone bearing trees. It comes from a coniferous tree which is one that has needles instead of leaves and is green all year round in other words an evergreen the wood from conifers is classified as softwood because with a few exceptions it s softer than the wood from deciduous trees which is classified as hardwood.

But the folks harvesting the southern u s. Pine has a great deal of stiffness and. 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. 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.

Deciduous angiosperms like oak are hardwoods while gymnosperms like spruce are softwoods.