Is An Elm Tree Hardwood

An elm tree and three sisters by norma sommerdorf is a children s book about three young sisters that plant a small elm tree in their backyard.

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. Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce. 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.

Elm trees are therefore classified as soft hardwoods. The texture and density of the wood a tree produces puts it in either the hardwood or softwood category. Although the wood of most softwood trees is less dense than hardwoods and often contains more air pockets whether a tree is a. Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees which lose their leaves annually like elm or maple.

Elm trees throughout europe and north america were devastated by dutch elm disease or ded. The chinese elm is a hardwood tree. Hybrid elm trees may have characteristics from either of the parent trees confounding identification. Softwood trees are conifers like pine which are evergreen and have needles instead of leaves.

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. 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. As a result disease resistant cultivars and hybrids have been sought out. Elm hardwood as the name suggests is harvested from the elm tree.

Once it is cut and divided you need to spend plenty of time to dry. Shown below is a piece of lumber from a small tree that was killed by dutch elm disease. 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. In fact these trees used to be the most common shade tree in the united states.

The wood was commonly used to build wagon wheels and chair seats. 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. The names hardwood and softwood can be deceiving and they don t actually refer to the strength or consistency of the wood. Chinese elm tree softwood or hardwood.

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. Ded is caused by a micro fungus that is spread by the elm bark beetle.