Do deciduous trees have hard or soft wood?

Hardwoods come from broadleafed trees. These are generally deciduous although there are a few broadleaved evergreen trees. Hardwoods include maple, ash, elm, oak and others. The term hardwood is confusing as some softwood trees have wood harder than some hardwoods. As an example some hardwoods (e.g. balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while yew is an example of a hard softwood.

Technically the distinction between hardwood and softwood relates to the plant's reproduction. All trees reproduce by producing seeds, but the seed structure varies. Hardwood trees are angiOSperms, seeds with some sort of covering. Softwoods are gymnosperms. These plants let seeds fall to the ground as is, with no covering.