Coniferous plywood is the real softwood plywood and deciduous is the real hardwood.
In general, hardwood comes from a deciduous tree which loses its leaves annually and softwood comes from a conifer, which usually remains evergreen. Hardwoods tend to be slower growing, and are therefore usually denser.
Hardwood is not necessarily a hard material and softwood is not necessarily a soft wood species.
Different types of construction projects need different kinds of panels, both hardwood and softwood plywood can be used for all projects from structural to non-structural decorative panels.
Yalongply is an exporter of hardwood plywood and pine plywood from China.
How do coniferous and deciduous wood differ?
There have different seeds.
The only way we can differentiate these two kinds of wood is by their seeds. Conifers or softwoods are called gymnosperms because of their naked seeds. Hardwood is called angiosperms because of its encased seeds. Compare an open ripe pine cone with an apple.
Deciduous Hardwood – Broad Leaves
Hardwoods are deciduous trees that have broad leaves. They produce a fruit or nut and generally go dormant in the winter.
- There are some hardwoods that are very hard (mesquite) and some that are very soft (balsa).
- Hardwood is mostly grown in tropical areas. Typical hardwoods are Okoume, Bintangor, Sapele, Meranti, etc. The majority source of hardwood is Gaboon, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
- Deciduous trees grow slow. But there are some deciduous trees that grow fast such as Falcata, Balsa, cottonwood, eucalyptus, and poplar trees.
- North America’s forests grow many American hardwoods including oak, ash, cherry, maple and poplar species. Other hardwoods are Elm, Spanish chestnut, Lime, Cherry, Sycamore and maple.
- Tropical Hardwoods include mahogany, rosewood, balsa, ebony, teak and wenge. They grow in tropical forests. The colour, grain pattern, hardness and lustre of many imported woods differ from those of American hardwoods.
- Tropical hardwoods are more expensive than softwood.
- Lose leaves in Autumn
| Hardwood Type | Features | Timber Use |
| Oak | Hard and durable Wood Finishes well Silver grain when cut radially | Furniture Doors Flooring Boats Plywood face |
| Elm | Attractive grain Resists splitting Moisture resistant | Woodturning Garden furniture Outdoor projects |
| Birch | Not a large tree Common in Ireland Light-coloured wood | Making plywood Furniture Flooring |
| Ash | Very common tree Grows quickly Hard, durable wood Wood is light-coloured Distinctive grain Elastic properties | Hurleys Furniture Tool handles Laminating veneer |
Conifer Softwood – Needle-like Leaves
Softwoods or conifers have needles rather than leaves. Widely available U.S. softwood trees include cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, redwood and spruce. We see a lot of pine used in the manufacturing of structural plywood and CDX plywood.
- Coniferous softwood doesn’t always grow fast. Pinon pine, for example, grows insanely slow.
- Softwoods are great for furniture too. Quartersawn fir is beautiful and clear pine is a joy to work with.
- There are many pines used for plywood production. Radiata pine from New Zealand. Hoop pine from Australia. Agathis pine are grown in Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.
Softwood Pine For Plywood
Pine is the most used softwood in plywood manufacturing.
There is more than one type of pine widely used by the industry.
There is radiata pine, Australian hoop pine, Chile pine, Brazillian pine, spruce, and larch. They are all conifer softwood that can be used for plywood veneers.
In Australia and North America, the pine is the most used veneer for non-structural and structural plywood.
