alder- hardwood or softwood?

[Matt Butler]

i am currently sat by a raging alder fire, kicks out good heat, wood splits and seasons quick, only downside is it does burn quicker than some of the other hardwoods

[chainsawdom]

i find alder seasons quite quick i felled loads of alder about 10 months ago cut and split it strait away and i picked some up the other day what i stacked up and was light as a feather and ready to burn.

[firewoodman]

sadly, the geek that i am, have done excessive research into the wood classification and its origin. boring i know!!!!

 

i have yet to find a definitive answer to this question, it is on par as to "what is the best wood to burn" answer.... whatever you can get for free, imo

 

not all deciduous are worthy of hardwood status, and many coniferous are worthy of the hardwood status.

 

maybe its time ( and i have often thought about how to get this one going correctly) to get a collective thread goin on tree species and thier qualities from the professional view point

 

how we percieve the tree, the wood, its durability, afterlife properties and qualities, but most importantly for this thread, its firewood properties without comments like "" its crap" and " waste of time"

 

i started the thread of whats burninig in your stove 2010, and there are quite a few burning conifer there, i'm still burning leylandii, and have never had the house so hot!!! and surprisingly, as we have quite an efficient stove, it burns well and for some time.

 

i think its not so much about what you burn anymore, but, what you burn and what you burn it in!!!

 

if you dont control the air in the stove correctly then imo its like leaving the door open on the fridge.

 

and those poems........ well they just rhyme and were written in the times of open fires in thatched roof houses, i think we have come on since then, and anyone who quotes them as gospel in thier firewood business, really does not know thier business

[dave fox]

i bloody hope it burns well i am starting to take down 175 40 fters tomorrow from a wind break, dont they make gun powder out of it or charcoal ?

[firewoodman]

i bloody hope it burns well i am starting to take down 175 40 fters tomorrow from a wind break, dont they make gun powder out of it or charcoal ?

 

both!! it charcoals down nice a grinds into a fine powder, ideal for mixing into gunpowder.................... good firewood too:thumbup1:

[Bolt]

softwoods are evergreen

 

hardwoods are decidous

 

alder is a hardwood and so is balsa

 

Not quite as easy as that.

 

Holly is evergreen (hardwood).

 

Larch is deciduous (softwood).

 

 

I agree with you though on balsa as being a [very soft] hardwood.

 

 

As for softwoods bearing cones, I think this is closer (cone bearing tree = conifers).

 

 

Hardwood / Softwood, Conifer / Broadleaf? ah, the confusion.

 

 

Alder is a Broadleaf Hardwood that is deciduous.

 

Now then Yew, which ever is that???

[Hodge]

Not quite as easy as that.

 

Holly is evergreen (hardwood).

 

Larch is deciduous (softwood).

 

 

I agree with you though on balsa as being a [very soft] hardwood.

 

 

As for softwoods bearing cones, I think this is closer (cone bearing tree = conifers).

 

 

Hardwood / Softwood, Conifer / Broadleaf? ah, the confusion.

 

 

Alder is a Broadleaf Hardwood that is deciduous.

 

Now then Yew, which ever is that???

 

Don't forget swamp cypress and Dawn redwood.

[firewoodman]

and what is ginkgo????????

[Big J]

Whether a tree is classified as a hardwood or softwood is entirely dependent on it's seed.

 

Hardwoods (angiosperms), have a fruiting body that contains the seed.

 

Softwoods (gymnosperms), do not have a fruiting body and have exposed seeds.

 

As a rule of thumb, hardwoods are broadleafed and softwoods are needle bearing. The exception to this is the gingko bilobo tree, regarded as a living fossil in it's own right.

 

Jonathan

[firewoodman]

Whether a tree is classified as a hardwood or softwood is entirely dependent on it's seed.

 

Hardwoods (angiosperms), have a fruiting body that contains the seed.

 

Softwoods (gymnosperms), do not have a fruiting body and have exposed seeds.

 

As a rule of thumb, hardwoods are broadleafed and softwoods are needle bearing. The exception to this is the gingko bilobo tree, regarded as a living fossil in it's own right.

 

Jonathan

 

unfortunatly, there always seems to be an exception to the rule. yew is needle bearing and produces a fruit

 

a quick google search will always bring up the above quoted statement, and many copies, but, when you delve deeper there are differences of opinion.

 

i'm not saying anyone is wrong or right, but, the one i prefer is the following from wikipedia

 

Structure

 

Hardwoods have a more complex structure than softwoods. The dominant feature separating "hardwoods" from softwoods is the presence of pores, or vessels[1]. The vessels may show considerable variation in size, shape of perforation plates (simple, scalariform, reticulate, foraminate), and structure of cell wall (e.g. spiral thickenings). Pores present in hardwood, but absent in softwood

 

Hardwood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

i always prefer science to hearsay and speculation, but even this one is not as scientific as it could be