6. Timber yielding plants

Besides food, medicine, and fibre, plants are used to yield timber. Timber is the wood obtained to build houses, furniture, handicrafts, toys, musical instruments, carving etc.

 

 

The wood required for these purposes is obtained from certain plants. Features of wood that are used as timber:

Timbers are classified into two according to their structure:

Hardwoods are obtained mostly from dicots and angiosperms (the largest group of land plants) that are flowering plants. Hardwoods are hard and heavy with a rough texture. Decks, high-quality furniture, wooden constructions, hardwood flooring, and boat-building are hardwood uses.

Softwoods are obtained from gymnosperms which are non-flowering trees. Few angiosperms also produce softwood. Softwood is soft and light that has a fine texture. They have a comparatively lower density than hardwoods. Softwoods are easier to carve and use and thus have higher workability than hardwoods.

 

Softwoods have a wide range of applications which include making plywood, wooden boxes, medium-density-fibreboard (MDF), home cabins and furniture, ladders, and also for the production of paper pulp (making paper).

Composite wood is manufactured from a variety of materials. A variety of materials are combined to make them stronger and durable.

 

Plywood is a composite wood created by finely-cut wooden boards from wood. These are layered one above the other as thin laminating sheets of wood. These together make a thicker and a stronger final product.