30 Unbelievable Facts about Timber

Timber has been used over thousands of years to build quality, long lasting buildings and structures. Along this journey, timber has accrued plenty of surprises along the way. We have gathered the best of them into one guide, covering the trees themselves, the hardwood and softwood divide, timber in construction, and the industry today.

Facts About Trees

1. The world’s smallest tree reaches your ankle. Despite growing to a maximum height of just 6cm, the Dwarf Willow is technically a tree, and the world’s smallest one at that. Native to the Arctic, it survives by staying tiny, keeping below the harsh winter winds, with leaves only 1 to 2cm long.
2. The oldest living organism on Earth is a tree. Out of all the plant life, bacteria, bugs and animals on the planet, the oldest living organism currently recorded is Methuselah, the Californian Bristlecone Pine from our introduction, at around 4,850 years old. Depending on how you count, an even older contender exists: a Norwegian Spruce in Sweden whose root system is believed to have been regrowing for over nine and a half thousand years.
3. The UK has at least 117 ancient oaks around 1,000 years old. The Woodland Trust identified them across the country, quiet survivors of a millennium of British weather.
4. There are over 60,000 tree species on Earth. More than half can only be found in a single country, and around 300 species are classed as critically endangered. North America, perhaps surprisingly, has among the fewest at roughly 1,400. If endangered trees interest you, our guide to fascinating facts about extinct trees digs deeper.
5. Only 12% of the UK is woodland. That is low for Europe. Germany has 32%, Italy 35%, France 37%, Russia 49% and Finland a staggering 72%. The most common trees found in the UK include ash, aspen, silver birch, oak and chestnut.
6. Trees get 90% of their nutrition from the air. Only around 10% comes from the soil, with the rest drawn from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
7. Some trees communicate with each other. Ecologists have found fungi forming underground networks between trees, with older “mother” trees at the centre. Studies suggest trees share resources through these networks and even warn neighbours about impending pest attacks.
8. Trees do not die of old age. Age is never the main cause of death for a tree. They are killed by outside forces: insects, weather, or people. Older trees simply become less able to protect their inner heartwood, which makes fighting off damage harder.
9. Maturity can take decades. Some oaks mature at 25 to 30 years old, while apple trees manage it in 6 to 10. Others reach maturity only once they hit a certain size.

Hardwood and Softwood Facts

10. The terms hardwood and softwood describe the tree, not the timber. Hardwoods come from broadleaved deciduous trees, technically angiosperms, which usually lose their leaves in winter and keep their seeds in an outer casing such as a fruit or acorn. Softwoods are gymnosperms: usually evergreen, needle-leaved, spreading naked seeds via cones, which is why they are also called conifers.
11. A hardwood can be soft. Balsa is one of the lightest timbers in the world, which is why it is the favourite for model aeroplanes, and it is a hardwood.
12. A softwood can be hard. Pine is denser than some hardwoods, and naturally durable softwoods such as Cedar, Larch and Douglas Fir are well suited to exterior projects. What matters is whether the species is up to the job, not which category it sits in.
13. London’s most popular tree is a hardwood. The London Plane crops up all over the capital thanks to its exceptional pollution-absorbing properties. See how many you can spot on your next visit.

Timber in Construction Stats

14. The world’s oldest timber building went up in 607AD. Horyuji temple in Japan was built around 1,300 years ago from Japanese Cypress that was already around 2,000 years old at the time of construction. Meticulously maintained, it is expected to stand comfortably for the next 1,300 years too.
15. A timber building can last as long as a brick one. Depending on climate, location and maintenance, a wooden house can easily match a brick house for lifespan, and timber performs better in areas prone to high winds or earthquakes.

Around 70% of the developed world’s population live in timber-frame homes, and in the US and Canada over 90% of low-rise buildings are made from timber.

16. Most people live in timber-frame homes. Around 70% of the population of the developed world live in homes built on timber frames. In Canada and the US, over 90% of low-rise buildings are timber. It is easy to work with, cost-effective, renewable and durable.
17. Timber is five times better than concrete as an insulator. All the empty space in its cells lets wood retain heat, unlike conductors such as metal, which transfer it away.
18. Timber can sink. While most timber floats, any wood with a specific gravity of 1.00 or more will go down, including dense species such as Ipe, Ekki and Greenheart. It is exactly that density which makes them the choice for marine and heavy structural work.
19. The most expensive timber in the world is African Blackwood. Sourced from a slow-growing tree in the dry regions of Southern and Central Africa, its boards are narrow, hard to work, and the species is listed as Near Threatened, which is why we do not supply it.
20. Timber’s versatility is hard to beat. Beyond construction it serves in sea defences, sports equipment, gazebos, furniture and decking, often outperforming the modern materials designed to replace it.

Timber Industry Facts

21. The US produces the most timber in the world. Not Russia or Scandinavia, as many guess: the US ships around 292.1 million cubic metres to construction projects and manufacturers globally.
22. Softwoods account for about 80% of world timber production. Their faster growth makes them more affordable and more available, while Oak remains the most widely used hardwood.
23. More trees are planted than harvested in the European timber industry. Reputable suppliers plant more trees than they fell, building an increasing supply of sustainable timber for future generations.

Deforestation Stats

24. Global deforestation has almost halved since the 1990s. The UN FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 puts annual deforestation at 10.9 million hectares for 2015 to 2025, down from 17.6 million a year in the 1990s. Real progress, though that still means losing an area nearly half the size of the UK every year, with 88% of it in the tropics.
25. Since the last ice age, the world has lost a third of its forests. That is two billion hectares, an area twice the size of the United States, cleared over 10,000 years for crops, livestock and fuel, and half of it disappeared in the last century alone.
26. 2024 was a record-breaking year for the wrong reasons. Around 30 million hectares of tree cover were lost worldwide, the largest area since 2001, with wildfires rather than agriculture the biggest driver. The tropics lost 6.7 million hectares of primary forest, the highest annual total on record. The encouraging counterweight: a fifth of the world’s remaining forest, some 813 million hectares, is now formally protected.

Timber and Sustainability Stats

27. Timber is a carbon store. As trees grow they absorb CO₂ and release oxygen, and once felled, the timber keeps that carbon locked inside for as long as it stays in use. For every 5.5kg of timber in your home, around 20kg of CO₂ is being kept out of the atmosphere.
28. All wood is biodegradable. Timber can be completely decomposed by bacteria and other biological agents, unlike the plastics it often competes with.
29. Timber is genuinely renewable. Given time, trees grow with no energy or raw material input from us, and harvested at a rate the forest can sustain, the supply need never end. The full picture, from certification to carbon arithmetic, is in our guide to sustainable timber sourcing.
30. Responsible sourcing is what makes the rest true. Every benefit above depends on where the timber comes from, which is why every product we supply is FSC or PEFC certified.

Need a Reliable & Sustainable Timber Supplier?

Eco Choice are specialist suppliers of certified timber and recycled plastic products. We were formed in 2005 with the aim of promoting FSC® certified timbers to the UK construction industry. We offer products from a wide range of different timber species, including Iroko wood and Larch wood. We are passionate about supplying our clients with independently certified timber products while encouraging responsible and sustainable practices at the source level. To find out how we can help you and to get a quick, no obligation quote, please call us on 0345 638 1340, email us on info@ecochoice.co.uk or for more information about our sustainable timber products, please visit our website.