### substance | wood:

Sequoia
* are among the largest living beings on earth
  - cypresses
  - thick-skinned
  - unusually hardy trees
  - well-adapted to natural fire
* can also be very old.
* have a shallow root system with no tap root
  - shallow, surface root systems
* thrive in the wet meadow, and a large dead sequoia shows marks of a fire long ago.

Soft wood
* is the main type of lumber used in homes, decks, and fences.
* tend to burn when edge pressure is too high.

Softer wood
* can chip, split and crack after multiple staplings.
* tend to spread over time allowing the cloth to pull out and become loose.

### substance | wood:

Softwood
* Generally lumber from a conifer such as pine or cedar.
* Some softwoods are also relatively dense.
* are less durable than hardwoods, but they're lighter and easier to work with
  - mostly hemlock, pine and spruce
  - much more likely to scratch and dent than hardwood and have a wider grain
  - shallow-rooted
* catch quickly but also burn very quickly and throw off lots of sparks.
* come from conifers.
* contain only tracheids.
* fall within four families of the order Coniferales, the conifers.
* generally come from coniferous or needle-leaved trees
  - stain poorly because they're soft
* have a vascular structure which looks similar to a bunch of drinking straws held together
  - abundant fibres and make good paper
  - their purpose such as in framing or exterior cornice of homes
* is wood
* predominate the regenerative species.
* produce shorter fibres suitable for paper such as newsprint.
* require more clamping time than hardwoods.
+ Hardwood, Properties: Wood
  * Softwoods have a vascular structure which looks similar to a bunch of drinking straws held together. They also have lignin, but of a slightly different type, and less of it than most hardwoods.

### substance | wood | softwood:

Evergreen softwood
* grow faster than deciduous hardwoods , and can grow to a larger size.
+ Hardwood, Properties: Wood
  * Each species of hardwood has its own set of properties, however they have some properties in common. Hardwoods normally have broad leaves and come from deciduous or broad-leafed evergreen trees. Hardwoods grow slower than softwoods. Evergreen softwoods grow faster than deciduous hardwoods, and can grow to a larger size. Hardwoods are excellent for carving. One of the hardest hardwoods is black ironwood which is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the heaviest wood. Ironwoods are so dense that they sink in water rather than float as other woods do.

Softwood cutting
* are pieces of new growth taken from woody stock plants
  - very delicate and can dehydrate very easily, especially under the summer sun
* come from stems that are rapidly expanding, with young leaves.
* root in about two weeks at low temperatures
  - more successfully when a rooting hormone is used
  - sooner and more prolifically in sand than in perlite
* taken in the spring or early summer can also root.

Solid wood
* are strongest when cut and designed with the grain of the wood.
* can also crack after just a few years.
* is chosen for similarity of grain and color
  - far superior to wood that is finger-jointed, filled, or veneered
  - manufactured by many small, medium and large privately owned operations
* mandolins, mandolas, and octave mandolins.
* remains many people's ideal for floors.
* tends to be much lighter as is often the case with many woods.

Sumac
* Most sumacs grow well in urban conditions and tolerate heavy, clay soils
  - have few serious pests
* are colorful trees in autumn, and have compound leaves and red, lemony-tasting berries
  - shrubs
  - small trees
+ Sumac, Description: Anacardiaceae
  * Sumacs are small trees. The leaves are arranged like spirals. The flowers are in spikes. Each flower is very small, greenish, creamy white or red, with five petals.