Trees can broadly be categorized into two; softwood and hardwoods. It is not always easy to tell them apart, but if you know how they look like, then you can differentiate between the two classes. Softwoods are mostly used in the construction industry and they are all around us in plenty. They include the evergreens, which are also known as coniferous trees.

The trees that fall under the softwood category include pine, fir, cedar and redwood. One interesting thing about the annual growth ring on the trunk of the softwood is that they have two sets of rings. The first one is the early-wood rings and the other is the latewood ring. The early wood rings are formed during the spring season and are much broader than their counterparts, while the latewood rings are formed in the summer or fall season.  

Hardwoods on the other hand are preferred for making furniture and also for flooring purposes. The wood from such trees is very hard, hence durable and less likely to become indented. They take long to grow, and normally shed off their leaves in fall and remain inactive until winter is over. Trees that fall under this category include mahogany, oak, maple, birch and cherry. The growth rings on the hardwoods are more even than those on the softwoods. The reason for this is because the outer portion of the tree which is the sap wood, is replaced every year with a new one.

One may also need to know the most popular types of trees for the purposes of home landscaping. Types of trees can be discussed based on very many other criteria, but the most common categorization criterion is the season. Among the most commonly used is the fall foliage stand out. The most common one under this category is the maple. You will come across other types of trees like olive, shade, ash and evergreen trees, all of which are categorized based on a few given factors.