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The Softwoods (Conifers)

forest
A coniferous forest
Trees are generally classed in two groups, namely, Softwoods or Conifers, and Hardwoods or Broadleafs. Those classed as softwoods usually have needle-like or scale-like leaves and on all but the junipers, some cedars, yews, and a few others, the “fruit” is a “cone” or ball of woody, overlapping closed scales, beneath each scale of which is enfolded one or more seeds. The “cone” of the junipers and yews is a small berry-like fruit within the pulp of which one or more seeds are enveloped. Because the leaves or “needles” of most of the conifers, except the Baldcypress and larches, remain on the tree for several years, the name “evergreen” is given this group. The botanical name for these plants is Gymnosperm. The softwoods are technically designated as nonporous woods usually having resin canals, which include only the wood of Gymnospermae.


The softwood or conifer group of forest trees in the United States comprises 35 kinds of pines, 7 spruces, 3 larches or tamaracks, 4 hemlocks, 10 firs, 19 others, mostly cedars and cypresses, 4 yews and their relatives and 12 junipers, a total of 94 species. There is a total of about 845 native kinds of forest trees in the United States. In addition many exotic softwoods have been imported for ornamental and landscape purposes.

The hardness or softness of the wood does not have any bearing upon its classification as a Softwood or a Hardwood tree. Some coniferous (softwood) trees are harder in texture than some hardwoods. Longleaf Pine and Pacific Yew wood are very much harder than many hardwoods. There is much similarity in texture, grain and color of many of the softwoods. The most important representatives of the soft wood group are included in this book.

Recent edits

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The American Woods Project 1273
01-15-2024 10:14
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Pine
Cedar
Wood Research Portal 6485
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Bald Cypress 2037
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Slash Pine 2709
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Pine
Longleaf Pine 2047
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Pine
Jack Pine 727
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Pine
Shortleaf Pine 1119
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Pine
Virginia Pine 1854
12-03-2022 12:05
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Pine
Pitch Pine 2427
12-03-2022 12:04
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Pine
Loblolly Pine 2419
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Pine
Lodgepole Pine 2123
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Pine
Ponderosa Pine 2085
12-03-2022 12:03
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Pine
Red Pine 2514
12-03-2022 12:03
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Pine
Pinyon Pine 2483
12-03-2022 12:02
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Pine
Sugar Pine 1879
12-03-2022 12:02
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Pine
Western White Pine 1991
12-03-2022 12:02
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Pine
Eastern White Pine 2642
12-03-2022 12:01
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Pine
Pacific Yew 1164
11-06-2022 05:35
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Eastern Redcedar 2566
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Cedar
Western Red Cedar 735
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Cedar
Sitka Spruce 1641
07-24-2022 17:47
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Spruce
Sierra Juniper 1784
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Rocky Mountain Juniper 1641
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Port Orford White-Cedar 788
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Cedar
Northern White-Cedar 1851
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Cedar
Noble Fir 1002
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Grand Fir 1338
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Eastern Larch 1213
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Larch
California Nutmeg 1332
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California Incense-Cedar 2144
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Cedar
Balsam Fir 2375
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Atlantic White-Cedar 2103
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Cedar
White Fir 642
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Giant Sequoia 902
01-14-2020 20:14
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The Softwoods (Conifers) 1321
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California Juniper 2135
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Eastern Hemlock 1605
10-30-2019 05:16
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Hemlock
Douglas Fir 1481
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Redwood 1251
10-29-2019 19:00
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Engelmann Spruce 1225
10-17-2019 19:23
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Spruce
Western Hemlock 763
10-15-2019 19:50
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Hemlock
White Spruce 834
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Spruce
Western Larch 753
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Larch
Alligator Juniper 1568
08-10-2019 20:11
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Bibliography


  • Shelley E. Schoonover (American Woods) 1951 (Watling & Co. ) Santa Monica, CA 


Contributors to this page: admin .
Page last modified on Friday November 1, 2019 05:17:52 PDT by admin.

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