Overview of hardwood types: 14 popular hardwoods

The natural product wood is always unique. Due to its hardness and resistance, a distinction is made between hardwood and softwood, with hardwood being very popular due to its diverse uses.

Overview of hardwood

Hardwoods mainly come from deciduous trees. The distinction between softwood and hardwood is made on the basis of the existing kiln density. This stands for the average density of completely dry wood. The wood moisture is 0 percent. It is given in g / cm³. If this figure is above 0.55 g / cm³, then it is hardwood. Everything underneath stands for softwood.

Wood from A - C

Maple (acer)

Occurrence:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia

Particularities:

• very robust and weatherproof
• light yellow to white sapwood
• Core light red-brownish to golden brown
• darkens when exposed to sunlight
• fine pores and wavy texture
• smooth, gray-brown bark
• Dairy density 0.72 g / cm³

Mission:

• Floors and stairs
• furniture
• Musical instruments

Pear tree (pyrus communis)

Origin:

• Central and Southern Europe
• West asia
• Siberia

Particularities:

• very hard and not very elastic
• dries slowly
• yellowish to reddish brown sapwood
• Core color just like sapwood
• darkens when exposed to sunlight
• hardly visible annual rings
• numerous rays
• Pores only visible in cross section
• Density 0.74 g / cm³
• gray-brown, cracked bark

Mission:

• Works of art
• sculpture
• Musical instruments
• Furniture making
• Interior work

Note: There is great demand for pear wood in Europe. It's hard to come by and therefore relatively expensive.

Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Occurrence:

• Europe
• Mediterranean area
• North Africa and Middle East

Specialty:

• light yellow to reddish-gray sapwood
• similar core color
• slightly flared, striped and fine-cracked texture
• Dose density 0.68 g / cm³
• smooth, gray-green bark
• silver-gray with age

Use:

• Furniture making
• doors and windows
• Floors and stairs
• also as peeling and industrial wood

Woods from D - F

Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)

Origin:

• Mediterranean area
• Asia Minor
• North africa
• Caucasus regions

Particularities:

• very fine hardwood
• white sapwood
• Core yellow to dark brown
• fluffy, striped texture
• sometimes also flamed or locked
• Dose density 0.65g / cm³
• deep gray, smooth bark
• colored brown-gray to dark brown in old age

Use:

• Furniture making
• Lumber for indoor and outdoor use
• Wall and ceiling coverings
• Floors and parquet

Oak (Quercus)

Occurrence:

• Europe
• North America

Specialty:

• very hard, yet elastic
• permanently weatherproof
• yellow-white sapwood
• Core brownish-yellow
• Annual rings clearly visible
• thus uniform grain
• Coarse-pored texture, slightly flattened, wood rays
• Dairy density 0.71 g / cm³
• furrowed, gray to gray-green bark

Use:

• Interior work
• Outdoor wooden structures
• Furniture making
• Floors and parquet

Note: The wet wood of oak can quickly corrode metal.

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)

Occurrence:

• Europe
• Middle east
• North America

Specialty:

• hard and elastic at the same time
• permanently weatherproof
• white to yellowish sapwood
• discoloration reddish to brownish with increasing age
• Core light yellow
• coarse pores
• Annual rings clearly visible
• irregular striped texture
• Dose density 0.65 g / cm³
• gray bark
• initially smooth, later rather cracked

Use:

• Interior work
• Floors and parquet
• Plywood
• Furniture making
• Sports equipment
• Musical instruments

Note: When processing ash wood, it can quickly stick the tools together.

Woods from G - M

Guaiacum

Occurrence:

subtropical and tropical america

Specialty:

• also known as pock wood
• the hardest wood in the world
• extremely resistant and resilient
• yellowish sapwood
• green core
• Core darkens
• fluffy, striped texture
• Dairy density 1.40 g / cm³
• gray-brown bark, mostly with yellow spots

Use:

• Solid wood construction
• Shipbuilding

Note: The wood chips contain valuable oils. These are used in homeopathy. In Germany the wood is used for the production of incense mixtures and aromatic essences for the production of herbal liqueurs. The international trade in wood from the pock tree is subject to approval.

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana)

Occurrence:

• Europe
• Asia Minor

Specialty:

• Cultivated as an ornamental and hedge shrub
• reddish-white sapwood
• Core color like sapwood
• Rays visible
• Annual rings hardly pronounced
• Daring density 0.61 g / cm³
• brown-gray, smooth, shiny bark

Use:

• Art carpentry
• Carving and turning work

Cherry tree (Prunus avium)

Occurrence:

• Central Europe to Turkey
• middle east
• Front india
• North africa
• North America

Specialty:

• mainly use of wood from bird cherry (sweet cherry)
• Hardwood of great economic importance
• particularly noble
• not particularly weather-resistant
• reddish to yellow-brown sapwood
• The core is yellowish-red to red-brown
• fine pores and dense fibers
• dark brown veins
• Wooden surface with a silky sheen
• Dairy density 0.60 g / cm³
• shiny, red to gray-brown bark

Use:

• Ceiling and wall coverings
• Furniture making
• Floors and parquet
• Plywood
• Manufacture of jewelry

Note: Cherry wood can be combined very well with other types of wood.

Wood from N - T

Plum tree (Prunus domestica)

Occurrence:

• Central and Southern Europe
• Asia
• North America

Specialty:

• very hard, resilient and resilient
• difficult to dry
• yellowish sapwood
• Core pink-brown to purple-brown
• darkens when exposed to sunlight
• fine-pored and dense fibers
• striped or flamed texture
• Dairy density 0.75 g / cm³
• dark gray bark

Use:

• Turning and carving work
• Woodwind instruments
• Plywood
• Furniture making

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

Occurrence:

• originally from eastern North America
• is cultivated worldwide today
• often found in parks and gardens in this country

Specialty:

• also known as false acacia
• very valuable and robust
• hard yet flexible
• good weather and rot resistance
• light yellow to greenish-yellow sapwood
• Core olive-yellow to greenish-yellow
• Color darkens
• striped, fluffed and matt-gloss texture
• Dose density 0.69 g / cm³
• brown-gray bark

Use:

• Construction wood for outdoor use
• Shipbuilding
• Gardening and landscaping
• Windows and doors
• Floors and stairs

Teak tree (Tectona grandis)

Occurrence:

• India
• Brazil
• South East Asia
• grows there in monsoon forests

Specialty:

• pure imported wood
• extremely weather-resistant
• very oily
• therefore so water-repellent
• whitish-gray sapwood
• Core golden yellow
• later turns medium to dark brown
• Fluffed, coarse pin-cracked and matt-glossy texture
• Dose density 0.63 g / cm³
• gray, longitudinally fissured bark

Use:

• Outdoor area
• Gardening and landscaping
• Furniture and garden furniture
• Shipbuilding
• Windows and doors
• Panels

Note: If the wood is regularly oiled or waxed, the original color can be retained.

Elm (ulmus)

Origin:

• temperate zones of the northern hemisphere
• Eurasia
• North America

Particularities:

• Wood is called "armor"
• heavy, hard wood
• highly resilient
• difficult to split
• yellowish to light gray sapwood
• The core varies from light brown to medium brown to dark red-brown
• typical heartwood tree
• darkens when exposed to sunlight
• clearly ring-pored
• rough texture
• unpleasant smell
• Dose density 0.64 g / cm³
• gray-black bark
• initially smooth, later longitudinally fissured

Use:

• Plywood
• Furniture making
• Wall and ceiling coverings
• Floors and parquet

Cedar (Cedrus atlantica)

Occurrence:

• North America
• Morocco
• Asia
• Lebanon

Specialty:

• Softwood with a pleasant scent
• moderately hard and weather-resistant
• also known as red cedar
• very resinous
• Color and structure can vary widely
• reddish-white sapwood
• Core light brown
• clear annual rings
• dense fiber
• Daring density 0.56 g / cm³
• Initially gray and smooth bark
• in old age dark to black-gray scale bark, cracked

Use:

• Shipbuilding
• Windows and doors
• garden furniture
• Railway sleepers
• Facade cladding

Note: If the wood comes into contact with sunlight, a very elegant gray patina forms on the surface.

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