The Hardwood

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For other uses, see Hardwood (disambiguation).

Beech is a popular temperate zone hardwood

SEM images showing the presence of pores in hardwoods (Oak, top) and absence in softwoods (Pine, bottom)

The term hardwood is used to describe wood from non-monocot angiosperm trees.

In addition the term hardwoods is used for those trees themselves. These are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they 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, but there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness in both groups, with the range in density in hardwoods completely including that of softwoods; some hardwoods (e.g. balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while yew is an example of a hard softwood.

Common deciduous European and North American hardwoods include the oaks (Quercus spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), maple (Acer spp.) and cherry (Prunus spp.). Examples of European evergreen trees that yield specialty hardwoods (used in small volumes) include holly (Ilex aquifolium), boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and holm oak (Quercus ilex). Important tropical hardwoods include teak(Tectona grandis), mahogany (Swietenia spp.), ebony (Diospyros spp.) and lauan (Shorea spp.).

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 (simple, scalariform, reticulate, foraminate), and structure of cell wall (e.g. spiral thickenings).

Hardwoods are employed in a large range of applications including: construction, furniture, flooring, utensils, etc. 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).