What is the Difference Between Hardwood vs Softwood Firewood?
When it comes to firewood, hardwood simply refers to any wood that is hard and dense. Softwoods refer to woods that are less dense and not as hard. But botanically, and in some forest product industries, it gets a little more complicated than that. Hardwood or softwood doesn’t necessarily relate to the hardness or softness of the wood. Most hardwoods do tend to be harder than most softwoods, but with some species, that’s not always the case. Some hardwoods such as aspen cottonwood and alder are softer than some softwoods. Balsa wood is well known for being a very soft and light but technically it is actually a hardwood. Whether a type of wood is a hardwood or a softwood has more to do with the way the wood fibers are structured more than its actual hardness. Difference in cellular structure between hardwoods vs softwoods Hardwood comes from deciduous trees such as oak, tanoak, madrone, myrtle, hickory, elm and maple. Hardwood is usually more dense, burns longer and produces more heat t
