Balsa Tree Hardwood

The green balsa wood is the one that contains five times more water by weight than the actual wood substance.

Balsa tree hardwood. This wood is far from the other hardwood that you can see in the market since it has more water in it. It is the softest commercial hardwood. Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth.

The terms hardwood and softwood don t relate to the weight or density of the wood but to the tree type. The balsa wood has a solid volume that only consists of 40 of the entire tree. The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft. 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.

For example balsa wood is one of the lightest least dense woods there is and it s considered a hardwood. Being a deciduous angiosperm balsa is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft. The distinction between hardwood and softwood actually has to do with plant reproduction. All trees reproduce by producing seeds but the seed structure varies.

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. The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth. This might be a fruit such as an apple or a hard shell such as an acorn.

Broad leafed flowering trees are hardwoods. There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood. Although the wood of a balsa tree is soft balsa is a hardwood.