hardwood

250px|right|thumb|Beech is a popular hardwood

Hardwood is wood from flowering (angiosperm) trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes, they are mostly deciduous, but in the tropics and subtropics, they are mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from angiosperm trees) contrasts with softwood (which is from gymnosperm trees).