Are Deciduous Trees Hardwood Or Softwood

Hardwood information specifies that hardwood trees are deciduous.
Are deciduous trees hardwood or softwood. On the other hand softwood comes from coniferous trees which we call evergreens. Hardwood trees take a longer time to grow than softwood trees. E g oak examples are oak cherry birch maple walnut elm beech ash teak mahogany and obeche whether a wood is a softwood or a hardwood depends on the tree it. Informally trees categorized as hardwoods are usually deciduous meaning they lose their leaves in the autumn.
This means that the leaves fall off in autumn and the tree remains leafless through springtime. Softwoods are conifers which have needles rather than traditional leaves and retain them through the winter. Evergreens do tend to be less dense than deciduous trees and therefore easier to cut while most hardwoods tend to be more dense and therefore sturdier. Hardwood originates from deciduous trees that shed leaves during winter.
On the other hand softwood conifers do not pass the winter with bare branches. The hardwood softwood terminology does make some sense. These trees will not shed their leaves during winter and they bear cones or uncovered seeds that fall to the ground and germinate. Sometimes true but not necessarily.
Farmers clearing their land in the east back in the 18th and 19th centuries would have encountered a great range of deciduous trees scientifically categorized as angiosperms those that have broad leaves. Distinctions between hardwood and softwood.