Is Cypress a Hardwood or a Softwood? (& Is It Strong?)

Is Cypress a Hardwood or a Softwood? (& Is It Strong?)

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If you are trying to determine what kind of wood to use for your next big construction project, one of the best options that you have at your disposal is cypress. Now, there are many different types of this wood out there, and their properties do differ quite greatly.

However, what we are here to figure out today is whether or not cypress is a hardwood, and how strong it really is. We are going to evaluate this material based on a number of factors.

Is Cypress a Hardwood or Softwood?

Cypress trees are a very interesting species. First and foremost, these are deciduous trees that do shed their leaves during the fall, as hardwoods do. However, it is not hardwood. These trees are actually conifers or coniferous, which means that they are softwoods.

Furthermore, there are many different kinds of cypress to consider, and their strengths and weaknesses do differ quite greatly. There can be a whole lot of variation from one type to another. As you will see, this is one of the most diverse tree species out there.

Cypress Wood Strength: All You Need to Know

Today, we are going to take a closer look at seven of the most common types of cypress trees out there. These include the bald cypress, Gowen cypress, Monterey cypress, Mexican cypress, Mediterranean cypress, Leyland cypress, and Australian cypress.

Furthermore, we are going to be evaluating all of these based on five main factors. These are the factors generally used to determine exactly how strong a piece of wood is, and they include compressive strength, bending strength, stiffness, hardness, and density. Let’s get to it and figure out just how strong this type of wood really is.

Compressive Strength

Let’s take a look at the compressive strength of the various types of cypress:

  • Bald Cypress – 6,360 lbf per square inch (43.9 MPa)
  • Gowen Cypress – 3,680 lbf per square inch (25.4 MPa)
  • Monterey Cypress – 5,710 lbf per square inch (39.4 MPa)
  • Mexican Cypress – 5,650 lbf per square inch (39.0 MPa)
  • Mediterranean Cypress – N/A
  • Leyland Cypress – 5,510 lbf per square inch 38.0 MPa)
  • Australian Cypress – 7,460 lbf per square inch (51.5 MPa)

Australian cypress has by far the highest compressive strength of all types, followed by bald cypress. In the grand scheme of things, this is relatively on par with most types of softwood, or a bit stronger. What is also quite impressive is that, aside from a few exceptions, cypress also has a higher or equal compressive strength than many types of hardwood

For those that don’t know, the compressive strength of wood may also be referred to as the crushing strength. This is in reference to how much weight a piece of wood can take parallel to its grain. For an easy-to-visualize example, imagine a table leg under a table. How much weight could you put on the tabletop before the table leg snaps sideways and sends the weight crashing down?

Bending Strength

Let’s take a look at the bending strength for the various types of cypress:

  • Bald Cypress – 10,600 lbf per square inch (73.1 MPa)
  • Gowen Cypress – 8,250 lbf per square inch (56.9 MPa)
  • Monterey Cypress – 11,770 lbf per square inch (81.2 MPa)
  • Mexican Cypress – 11,080 lbf per square inch (76.4 MPa)
  • Mediterranean Cypress – 6,460 lbf per square inch (44.6 MPa)
  • Leyland Cypress – 12,000 lbf per square inch (82.7 MPa)
  • Australian Cypress – 11,550 lbf per square inch (79.6 MPa)

As you can see, Leyland cypress actually has the highest bending strength of all the varieties. Now, when compared to softwoods, cypress performs very well on this front. Moreover, it is also on par or even higher than most types of hardwood, with just a few exceptions. Although cypress may be a softwood, it actually has very high bending strength.

This measurement may also be referred to as the modulus of rupture. This is all about how much weight a piece of wood can handle perpendicular to its grain, unlike compressive strength, which is measured parallel to the grain.

For example, imagine a board mounted on a wall so that it is completely horizontal with no support from below. Now, imagine a bucket being hung off the end of that stick and slowly being filled with water. How much water would have to be in that bucket for the stick to break and snap?

Stiffness

Let’s take a look at the stiffness of the various types of cypress:

  • Bald Cypress – 1,440,000 per square inch (9.93 GPa)
  • Gowen Cypress – 653,000 per square inch (4.50 GPa)
  • Monterey Cypress – 1,113,000 per square inch (7.81 GPa)
  • Mexican Cypress – 1,264,000 per square inch (8.72 GPa)
  • Mediterranean Cypress – 766,000 per square inch (5.28 GPa)
  • Leyland Cypress – 989,000 per square inch (6.82 GPa)
  • Australian Cypress – 1,351,000 per square inch (9.32 GPa)

Bald cypress has the highest stiffness rating, followed by Australian cypress. Now, when compared to other types of softwood, this is fairly stiff, although not as stiff as most types of hardwood. This wood doesn’t score very high in this category, especially when compared to the bending strength and compressive strength, where it scores abnormally high for a softwood.

The stiffness of wood may also be referred to as the modulus of elasticity. This is about how much weight a piece of wood can handle in the middle before it begins to lose its shape, bend, or sag.

For instance, imagine yourself standing on top of a board that is being supported on either side so that the middle of the board is hanging free. How much would you have to weigh in order to cause that board to bend or sag downwards?

Hardness

Let’s take a look at the hardness of the various types of cypress:

  • Bald Cypress – 510 lbf
  • Gowen Cypress – 570 lbf
  • Monterey Cypress – 620 lbf
  • Mexican Cypress – 500 lbf
  • Mediterranean Cypress – 560 lbf
  • Leyland Cypress – 430 lbf
  • Australian Cypress – 1,360 lbf

As you can see, Australian cypress is by far the hardest variety. What is interesting to note is that this is actually harder than many types of hardwood that can be found across the world, and certainly much harder than most softwoods. However, all other types of cypress are pretty on par with most types of softwood, with some actually being harder than most types of cypress.

The hardness of wood refers to how hard the outer surface is, or in other words how resilient the wood is to physical damage, such as denting and scratching. This is usually measured on the Janka hardness scale.

Density

Let’s take a look at the density of the various types of cypress:

  • Bald Cypress – 32 lbs per cubic foot (515 kg per cubic meter)
  • Gowen Cypress – 30 lbs per cubic foot (480 kg per cubic meter)
  • Monterey Cypress – 32 lbs per cubic foot (515 kg per cubic meter)
  • Mexican Cypress – 29 lbs per cubic foot (470 kg per cubic meter)
  • Mediterranean Cypress – 33 lbs per cubic foot (535 kg per cubic meter)
  • Leyland Cypress – 31 lbs per cubic foot (500 kg per cubic meter)
  • Australian Cypress – 41 lbs per cubic foot (650 kg per cubic meter)

Australian cypress is also the densest and heaviest type of cypress around, with it being on par or even heavier than some types of hardwood. However, just like with hardness, most types of cypress are pretty on par with most other softwoods in terms of density.

The density of wood refers to how heavy a piece of wood is in regard to a specific size or area, and this is usually measured in pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic meter.

Is Cypress Strong?

When it comes down to it, cypress has abnormally high compressive strength and bending strength for a softwood, and comes in pretty average in terms of hardness, stiffness, and density. In the grand scheme of things, especially for a softwood, cypress is quite strong.

Summary

If you are looking for a fairly affordable type of wood that is also strong, hard, durable, and can handle a lot of weight, cypress is certainly a good option to consider.