What is Softwood?
[[File:Softwood log piles in Chepstow Park Wood - geograph.org.uk - 1044640.jpg|200px|thumb|right|{{center|Piles of softwood lumber.}}]] '''Softwood''' is [[wood]] that comes from [[gymnosperm]] trees.<ref name=Bond4>Brian Bond; University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service, ''Wood identification for hardwood and softwood species native to Tennessee'' (Knoxville: Agricultural Extension Service, University of Tennessee, n.d.), p. 4</ref> These are [[conifer]]s, a term which includes most [[evergreen]] and [[deciduous]] trees.<ref name=Bond4/> Softwood makes up about 80% of the world's production of [[lumber]].<ref>James L. Howard, ''U.S. timber production, trade, consumption, and price statistics 1965-2002'', Research Paper FPL-RP-615 (U.S. Department of Agriculture; Forest Service), p. 5</ref> Traditional production areas include [[North America]], [[Scandinavia]], [[Baltic countries]] and [[China]]. The opposite of softwood is [[hardwood]], which is wood that comes from [[angiosperm]] trees. Softwoods are not always softer than hardwoods. Both groups include a variety of wood types that vary in actual hardness. For example [[balsa]] is a hardwood but is softer than most softwoods. Douglas [[fir]], a softwood, is much harder than many [[hardwood]]s. == References == {{reflist}} *Jane F.W. 1970.'' The structure of wood''. 2nd ed, edited by K. Wilson & D.J.B. White. London: Adam & Charles Black. ISBN 9780713609127 [[Category:Wood]] {{stub}}