Are Maple Trees A Hardwood

Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce.
Are maple trees a hardwood. It s also the state tree in four different states in the us for more information please see the article on the differences between hard maple and soft. A sugar maple s wood is the most dense of all maple wood and is used frequently in furniture and flooring. The wood of the sugar maple is strong heavy and hard with a light brown to reddish color. Also note that black maple not pictured isn t quite as hard as its close relative hard maple and ranks in the mid range with a hardness of 1 180 lb f.
With leaves that look very similar to the sugar maple the silver maple s leaves are thinner with more defined points. Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees which lose their leaves annually like elm or maple. Its wood is stronger stiffer harder and denser than all of the other species of maple commercially available in lumber form. The maple tree is a member of a group of 200 species of trees and shrubs worldwide that belong to the acer family.
All maples are hardwoods but the species found in america are further classified as hard or soft maples. Taking the hardness data within context of other hardwoods soft maple may be used as a valid substitute for hard maple in most situations where a hardwood of moderate density is called for. The most common hard maple is the sugar or rock maple. The sugar maple tree or acer saccharum is classified as a hard hardwood maple tree.
Hard maple ought to be considered the king of the acer genus.