Hardwoods

What is Hardwood?

The term hardwood is used to describe wood from non-monocot angiosperm trees and for those trees themselves.

These are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.

Hardwood contrasts with softwood, which comes from conifer trees. On average, hardwood is of higher density and hardness than softwood, although there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness in both

Hardwoods are more varied than softwood. There are about a hundred times as many hardwoods as softwoods. The dominant feature separating hardwoods from softwoods is the presence of pores, or vessels. The vessels may show considerable variation in size, shape of perforation plates and structure of cell wall (e.g. spiral thickenings).

Solid hardwood joinery tends to be expensive compared to softwood. In the past, tropical hardwoods were easily available but the supply of some species such as Burma teak and mahogany is now becoming restricted due to overexploitation. Cheaper “hardwood” doors, for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to a core of softwood, plywood or medium-density fibreboard (MDF).