Wood in its raw material form comes from trees which are the most prominent members of the plant kingdom. A tree is comprised of a root system, a truck (or bole), branches, and foliage. It is the trunk of the tree that most of our wood is derived from.

What is wood exactly?

The cellular structure of wood is made from cellulose bonded together with a chemical called lignin. The cellulose forms the cell walls while the lignin acts as the glue that holds everything together, while at the same time allowing water to pass through to the cells.

It is the size and shape and density of the cells that give wood its characteristics of texture and grain pattern, while grain pattern is related to the growth direction of the cell fibers.

Softwoods and Hardwoods

Gymnosperms and Angiosperms as they are respectively called scientifically give us the two groupings of softwoods and hardwoods. Gymnosperms are conifers or needle bearing trees, and angiosperms are broad leaf bearing (and losing) trees.

However, these terms can be misleading as some softwoods are harder than certain hardwoods. In general, these labels are reliable, but one notable example of a soft 'hardwood' is balsa wood.

Softwood lumber is mostly used in building structures. It is faster growing and therefore cheaper, whereas hardwood lumber grows more slowly and denser than softwood. Most furniture is made from hardwood lumber.