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The term hardwood and softwood actually refers to the leaves that the tree has hardwood having broad leaves (that are often but not always deciduous).
The actual hardness of the wood is expressed using its Janka rating. This is the force required to embed a~ 11mm steel ball halfway into a sample of the wood. Species are awarded Janka rating based on the average rating for that species.
Bobbo
I learned recently that balsa wood, a soft wood if ever there was one, is in fact a hardwood. Mind blown. It is as if whoever came up with the wood classification system had it in for everyone else.