Balsa Tree Hardwood

The terms hardwood and softwood don t relate to the weight or density of the wood but to the tree type.

Balsa tree hardwood. The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft. Being a deciduous angiosperm balsa is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft. Broad leafed flowering trees are hardwoods. The balsa wood has a solid volume that only consists of 40 of the entire tree.

For example balsa wood is one of the lightest least dense woods there is and it s considered a hardwood. The green balsa wood is the one that contains five times more water by weight than the actual wood substance. Trees are classified as hardwood because of the shape of their leaves so balsa with its large broad leaves is classified as hardwood despite being very soft. It is the softest commercial hardwood.

Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. Hardwood trees are angiosperms mostly decidous in the northern hemisphere but evergreens in the southern hemisphere while softwoods are conifers. The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft. There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood.

The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth. All trees reproduce by producing seeds but the seed structure varies. Although the wood of a balsa tree is soft balsa is a hardwood. Hardwood trees are angiosperms plants that produce seeds with some sort of covering.

The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth. See wikipedia for more information about balsa. The distinction between hardwood and softwood actually has to do with plant reproduction.