Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
I was in some giant showroom of home stuff in Chicago. There was a flooring business that displayed there. They offered a wide, maybe as wide as 12", floor in most domestic hardwoods. (I pointed out a red oak board in the midst of their white oak floor display, but they dismissed my knowledge of oak). I asked and never got an answer of how they could keep it flat on the floor and more or less tight. The display floor was perfect. The price was staggering!

Strip floor was invented because the material cost is low. We had a flooring manufacturing plant nearby. They bought 2 Common red and white oak for the strip flooring product. The narrow strips mean more efficient use of the lumber. In #2 common the company could manufacture everything from clear to rustic narrow floor strips. The yield of clear would be nil in a wider product. There is a lot of waste in a 4" plank floor unless lumber can be specifically picked for it. (been there and done that) Plank flooring is cut from #1 Common, a substantially more expensive lumber.