Author Topic: help identify the tree (Read 3755 times)

coyotencuttin · « **on:** July 12, 2009, 06:39:01 pm »

not sure what this is. located in maryland. bark looks similar (to me ) to hickory but not sure. maybe hackberry or alder but

the part to the left is almost 3 feet in diameter and about 10 feet long, it has 3 small trunks a couple feet past the bottom. alot of wood there. would it be good firewood for home heating or not worth the bother to cut it up??

fishpharmer · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2009, 07:09:01 pm »

The hacknerries I have seen have smoother bark and darker wood.

LeeB · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2009, 08:15:27 pm »

Ain't hackberry. I vote hickory.

OneWithWood · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2009, 10:39:21 am »

Hickory

Ga. bow-man · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2009, 11:03:48 am »

looks hickory-- can you split it?

DanG · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2009, 11:50:21 am »

Looks like Hickory to me too. One way to tell for sure is to burn a little piece of it...just a chip of sawdust is enough...and if it makes you hungry for BBQ, it's Hickory.

SPIKER · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2009, 05:05:53 pm »

with out a leaf and a bit better pic, I can say it dont look like hickory to me, definably NOT shag bark, and the 3 trunk split/form above the trunk appears more maple to me, the pig nut hickory has more of a diamond shape to the bark in these parts. A leaf or closer identifying pic would be better even a end grain pic would help.

Mark

coyotencuttin · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2009, 08:19:15 pm »

have a couple better pictures. i have no pictures of the leaves.sorry. does seem to split hard and tears alot of wood.

i do appreciate the help. everything i have relys on leaf pictures and almost nothing on the bark.

LeeB · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2009, 08:30:47 pm »

still hickory.

Jeff · « **Reply #9 on:** July 13, 2009, 08:50:49 pm »

Looks like maple to me. Especially the spit piece. The Hickories we have up here split clean.

beenthere · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2009, 09:06:13 pm »

Lookin like hickory to me. Touch, feel, and smell would confirm it. Can you do that for us, or post it?

Ron R. · « **Reply #11 on:** July 16, 2009, 07:20:32 am »

I have to vote hickory too.

Dodgy Loner · « **Reply #12 on:** July 16, 2009, 09:08:34 am »

Inner bark looks a little too thick to be maple, so I'm voting hickory as well. Probably pignut hickory. I've dealt with some hickory that definitely does not split cleanly!

Jeff · « **Reply #13 on:** July 16, 2009, 09:13:18 am »

Do you have any other firewood there of a known species? Say oak? Pick up a piece of oak if you have it of similar size to the unknown species. Which is heavier? From my experience hickory is almost always the heaviest wood in the wood pile in northern hardwoods. If you have maple and hickory and oak and birch, you would always know the hickory by just grabbing a chunk, even if blind folded.

Jeff · « **Reply #14 on:** July 16, 2009, 09:22:47 am »

I just went out and snapped a few photos of a soft maple in my yard. You should see the many similarities to the phot posted in the first post other then my tree is not firewood. Yet. Its sick, dieing and will be soon.

Dodgy Loner · « **Reply #15 on:** July 16, 2009, 12:04:08 pm »

Quote from: Jeff on July 16, 2009, 09:22:47 am

It's sick, dying and will be soon.

Sounds like you need to play sawyer again pretty soon

coyotencuttin · « **Reply #16 on:** July 17, 2009, 04:15:38 pm »

i'm thinking maple too. i found pictures of silver maple and i think thats it. does it make good fire wood?? the pile i can work on is pretty big and don't want to knock it down to size if its junk and not worth to cut up . thanks to everybody for their help.

tyb525 · « **Reply #17 on:** July 17, 2009, 04:27:26 pm »

The hickory I've cut has a dark brown heart, almost like white oak.

nas · « **Reply #18 on:** July 17, 2009, 08:39:52 pm »

Quote from: tyb525 on July 17, 2009, 04:27:26 pm

The hickory I've cut has a dark brown heart, almost like white oak.

same here but I have only cut bitternut.
My vote is red maple

Dodgy Loner · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2009, 10:42:13 pm »

Maple splits as cleanly as any wood. Hickory is more variable in my experience. Also, hickory can form a very large tree with no heartwood, or it can have an significant proportion of dark brown or reddish-brown heartwood. Wish there were a simple way for you to tell the difference between the two, but the best way is with a closeup of cleanly cut end grain. Here are a couple of pictures from the excellent website, hobbithouseinc.

Hickory end grain - notice that the prominent alternating lines of light and dark; the light dots are actually water-carrying vessels formed each spring

Maple end grain - much more even appearance; annual rings are less clearly defined

News:

Author Topic: help identify the tree (Read 3755 times)