Is Rimu A Hardwood Or Softwood

Rimu timber has barely discernible growth rings averaging 14 per centimetre.

Is rimu a hardwood or softwood.

Rimu dacrydium cupressinum spruce picea norway spruce picea abies black spruce picea mariana red spruce picea rubens sitka spruce picea sitchensis white spruce picea glauca sugi cryptomeria japonica white cedar northern white cedar thuja occidentalis atlantic white cedar chamaecyparis thyoides nootka cypress cupressus. Medium earlywood to latewood transition. Softwoods come from cone bearing trees often with evergreen needle like leaves belonging to the botanical group gymnosperm plants with naked seeds. In general hardwood comes from a deciduous tree which loses its leaves annually and softwood comes from a conifer which usually remains evergreen.

The heartwood is highly decorative with a close even texture and is harder than the sapwood and very stable. Not to be confused with karri eucalyptus diversicolor a completely unrelated australian hardwood with a very similar. Rimu is a medium density softwood with a fine textured grain the heart wood is reddish brown. The seasoned heartwood which can be beautifully figured is reddish brown or occasionally yellowish with irregular pigmented streaks while the sapwood has a lighter brown tone.

The middle zone known as coloured rimu has a light brown colour and the sap wood a pale lighter brown tone. Rimu has moderate durability with the heartwood class 3 being more durable than the sapwood class 4. This means they ignite much faster and thus can be good as a starter wood to get your wood fire going. Softwood and hardwood are distinguished botanically in terms of their reproduction not by their end use or appearance.

All trees reproduce by producing seeds but the seed structure varies. It is deep red in colour and is strong and durable. Softwoods are less dense and also tend to be more resinous. A stunning timber one of the most beautiful in the world.

Contains resinous tracheids resin plugs with dark reddish brown contents which look nearly identical to diffuse parenchyma lookalikes substitutes. Rimu is a dense native timber of nz. It is found mostly on the west coast of the south island currently only a portion of this timber is available to bring harvests in line with sustainable levels. Rimu is a fine even textured medium density softwood.

The terms hardwood and softwood refer to the botanical origins of woods and not to their density or physical hardness.