{"id":15413,"date":"2014-07-22T20:56:04","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T01:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/?page_id=15413"},"modified":"2021-10-27T17:43:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T22:43:32","slug":"elm-wood-hard-and-soft","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/elm-wood-hard-and-soft\/","title":{"rendered":"Elm Wood: Hard and Soft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>by Eric Meier<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The most basic division of elm species is between hard and soft elm. The wood of the hard elms (sometimes referred to as rock elm) generally range from 41 to 47 lbs\/ft<sup>3<\/sup>, while soft elms typically have a density from 35 to 38 lbs\/ft<sup>3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<h3><strong>Hard Elms:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<h3><strong>Soft Elms:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/winged-elm\/\"><strong>Winged Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus alata)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/cedar-elm\/\"><strong>Cedar Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus crassifolia)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/rock-elm\/\"><strong>Rock Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus thomasii)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/american-elm\/\"><strong>American Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus americana)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wych-elm\/\"><strong>Wych Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus glabra)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/english-elm\/\"><strong>English Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus procera)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/red-elm\/\"><strong>Red Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus rubra)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/dutch-elm\/\"><strong>Dutch Elm<\/strong> (Ulmus \u00d7 hollandica)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong>Anatomical Identification <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The primary element for distinguishing elm types is found in the earlywood pores. For elms in North America, hard elms are characterized by smaller earlywood pores that are closer in size to the latewood pores. The earlywood is generally in a single, broken row.<\/p>\n<table align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><figure id=\"attachment_6472\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6472\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-elm-endgrain-zoom.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6472\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-elm-endgrain-zoom-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Cedar Elm (endgrain 10x)\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-elm-endgrain-zoom-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-elm-endgrain-zoom-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-elm-endgrain-zoom-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-elm-endgrain-zoom.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6472\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cedar Elm (endgrain 10x), a hard elm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/td>\n<td><figure id=\"attachment_8970\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8970\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-endgrain-zoom.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-8970\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-endgrain-zoom-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Red Elm (endgrain 10x)\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-endgrain-zoom-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-endgrain-zoom-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-endgrain-zoom-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-endgrain-zoom.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8970\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Red Elm (endgrain 10x), a soft elm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>By contrast, soft elms tend to have larger earlywood pores. The earlywood may be one or two rows wide, as in American Elm (Ulmus americana), or two to four pores wide, as in Red Elm (U. rubra).<\/p>\n<p>However, elm species from Europe and Asia do not always follow the same earlywood patterns as the North American species. Most notably, English Elm (U. procera) and Wych Elm (U. glabra) both have single, intermittent rows of smaller earlywood pores, but are considered soft elms.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5511\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5511\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wych-elm-endgrain-zoom-s.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5511\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wych-elm-endgrain-zoom-s-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Wych Elm (endgrain 10x)\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wych-elm-endgrain-zoom-s-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wych-elm-endgrain-zoom-s-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wych-elm-endgrain-zoom-s-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wych-elm-endgrain-zoom-s.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5511\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wych Elm (endgrain 10x), a soft elm with the anatomy of a North American hard elm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With the exception of the multiple earlywood rows found in Red Elm, individual species of both hard and soft elms cannot be further separated down to a species level.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Dutch Elm Disease<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This fungal disease is spread by elm bark beetles, and has been responsible for the demise of tens of millions of elm trees in North America and Europe. As a result, disease-resistant cultivars and hybrids have been sought out. Hybrid elm trees may have characteristics from either of the parent trees, confounding identification.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Lookalikes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Elm is sometimes confused with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/white-ash\/\">ash (Fraxinus spp.)<\/a>, though the two can be separated based on elm\u2019s wavy latewood bands.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5570\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5570\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-ash-endgrain-zoom.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5570\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-ash-endgrain-zoom-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"White Ash (endgrain 10x)\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-ash-endgrain-zoom-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-ash-endgrain-zoom-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-ash-endgrain-zoom-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-ash-endgrain-zoom.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5570\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">White Ash (endgrain 10x), may exhibit mild ulmiform patterning, but it&#8217;s not as consistent through the entire latewood section as it is with elm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This zig-zag pattern, also called ulmiform, is even visible on flatsawn surfaces as minute jagged lines.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8968\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8968\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-sealed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-8968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-sealed-150x200.jpg\" alt=\"Red Elm (sealed)\" width=\"150\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-sealed-150x200.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-sealed-45x60.jpg 45w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-sealed-300x400.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/red-elm-sealed.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8968\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Red Elm, ulmiform patterning is evident even on the face grain of elm as thin\u00a0zig-zags between growth rings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/hackberry\/\">Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)<\/a> is anatomically very similar to elm, though its wide sapwood and grey or yellowish color usually serve to differentiate it from elm.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4639\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4639\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hackberry-sealed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-4639\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hackberry-sealed-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"Hackberry (sealed)\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hackberry-sealed-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hackberry-sealed-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hackberry-sealed-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hackberry-sealed.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4639\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hackberry frequently has a somewhat &#8220;dirty&#8221; and mottled appearance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Get the hard copy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/book\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wood-book-standup-225x299.jpg\" alt=\"wood-book-standup\" width=\"225\" height=\"299\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-20824 size-medium\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wood-book-standup-225x299.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wood-book-standup.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>If you&#8217;re interested in getting all that makes <em>The Wood Database<\/em> unique distilled into a single, real-world resource, there&#8217;s the book that&#8217;s based on the website\u2014the Amazon.com best-seller, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/book\/\">WOOD! Identifying and Using Hundreds of Woods Worldwide<\/a><\/strong>. It contains many of the most popular articles found on this website, as well as hundreds of wood profiles\u2014laid out with the same clarity and convenience of the website\u2014packaged in a shop-friendly hardcover book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Eric Meier The most basic division of elm species is between hard and soft elm. The wood of the hard elms (sometimes referred to as rock elm) generally range from 41 to 47 lbs\/ft3, while soft elms typically have a density from 35 to 38 lbs\/ft3. Hard Elms: Soft Elms: Winged Elm (Ulmus alata) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15413","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46252,"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15413\/revisions\/46252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}