Is An Elm Tree Hardwood

The names hardwood and softwood can be deceiving and they don t actually refer to the strength or consistency of the wood.

Is an elm tree hardwood.

Elm trees throughout europe and north america were devastated by dutch elm disease or ded. Shown below is a piece of lumber from a small tree that was killed by dutch elm disease. The texture and density of the wood a tree produces puts it in either the hardwood or softwood category. Hybrid elm trees may have characteristics from either of the parent trees confounding identification.

Elm trees are therefore classified as soft hardwoods. Once it is cut and divided you need to spend plenty of time to dry. Elm is a hardwood because it is a deciduous tree meaning it loses its leaves every year. For a tree to be a hardwood is based on whether that tree is deciduous not on the density of the wood.

Although the wood of. Indeed the key is to give the elm enough time to dry to become completely dry. Dutch elm disease spread so much wood that people try to burn from standing dead trees dead trees don t insure to be dry inside. Elm hardwood as the name suggests is harvested from the elm tree.

The cutting of the elm was a diplomatic altercation between the kings of france and england in 1188 during which an elm tree near gisors in normandy was felled. As a result disease resistant cultivars and hybrids have been sought out. Softwood trees are conifers like pine which are evergreen and have needles instead of leaves. The names hardwood and softwood can be deceiving and they don t actually refer to the strength or consistency of the wood.

In fact these trees used to be the most common shade tree in the united states. The chinese elm is a hardwood tree. Wood from the elm tree is very strong and it s valued for its interlocking grain. The elm tree is a deciduous tree it loses its foliage seasonally from the ulmaceae family that was commonly used as a shade tree or for landscaping.

Chinese elm tree softwood or hardwood. The wood was commonly used to build wagon wheels and chair seats. Although the wood of most softwood trees is less dense than hardwoods and often contains more air pockets whether a tree is a. This fungal disease is spread by elm bark beetles and has been responsible for the demise of tens of millions of elm trees in north america and europe.

Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce. Being so young there was very little heartwood formed yet the darker brown wood on the right half with the majority of the wood being sapwood light area on the left half of the scans.