Author Topic: help identify the tree (Read 3757 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

Jeff · « **Reply #20 on:** July 17, 2009, 11:08:07 pm »

Yea but isn't your experience probably mostly with more southern specimens? Our Red Maple may split easy, or it may split exactly as in the photo. Variable. Our hickories for the most part will quarter themselves if left in the sun. coyotencuttin's tree is more on a latitude as ours versus the southern hickories. I've looked at a few ten's of thousands of logs up here and I would never have guessed hickory by the photo's presented from the northern hardwoods. Not that it can't be, but its certainly not close to my first inclination.

I'm still waiting for coyotencuttin's impression of the weight. Hickory tends to have that "heavier then I expected" feel when you grab a chunk. Maple's weight is more what you would expect for a chunk of firewood of a given size

Lanier_Lurker · « **Reply #21 on:** July 17, 2009, 11:44:25 pm »

Off topic, but whoever felled the tree appears to have done a solid job.

I have to admit that the 2 more recent pictures look an awful lot like the red maple rounds I have out in the woodpile. The bark just does not look quite like hickory - but if it is hickory it would almost have to be pignut as Dodgy says.

The unexpected weight of hickory is also a good indicator as Jeff says. I just delivered some hickory I have been saving (for smoking meat) to a coworker. The pieces were only 12 - 14 inches long and 6 - 8 inches in diameter. When I grabbed them from the pile I was still amazed at how heavy they were. That stuff is dense.

It looks like a big old red maple to this amateur. The butt log looks pretty clear and straight too with not a much taper. Might be a good sawlog.

DanG · « **Reply #22 on:** July 18, 2009, 12:44:11 am »

I still say, flic yer Bic on a little splinter and you'll know right away if it is hickory or not.

LeeB · « **Reply #23 on:** July 18, 2009, 03:00:51 am »

Just the tiniest wisp of smoke would tell the tale wouldn't it DanG.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #24 on:** July 18, 2009, 04:13:40 am »

Looks like soft maple to me and I've never seen one split easy, it will splinter as bad as rock maple. That crotched tree would be even worst to split. Dad always cut the junk trees for firewood and it was hard labour to get them split. Finally got a wood splitter for the tractor and a tow behind after done farming. I get rock maple for firewood and I bet I get 2 rounded wheel barrels of kindling sized splinters from each 1.5 cord load.

Now white birch, that's not even work.

SPIKER · « **Reply #25 on:** July 20, 2009, 05:15:22 pm »

second set of pics tells me maple as well most defiantly not hickory from this latitude.

this is a pignut hickory it shows the traditional diamond shaped raised bark.

standard shag bark hickory

king nut hickory

unfortunately I do not have any pics in the gallery of any red/silver/sugar maples. My best guess is red maple as silver usually has more furled bark, like mentioned some maples will twist/corkscrew as the grain grows red is worse for this and also worse for splitting, usually silver maple will pop and fall apart with little effort.

Mark

OneWithWood · « **Reply #26 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:48:01 am »

After looking more closely at the pics I am moving away from hickory and closer to red maple.

Jeff has seen a few more logs than I so I suspect he has it right.

bull · « **Reply #27 on:** July 21, 2009, 08:13:33 am »

I hit the Maple button !!!! white wood thru to the heart.....

LeeB · « **Reply #28 on:** July 21, 2009, 04:52:10 pm »

Burn some. Your nose knows.

WDH · « **Reply #29 on:** July 21, 2009, 06:59:35 pm »

I just saw this thread, and it was maplish to me from the start. I lean maplish. Like Dodgy says, the end grain tells the tale.

coyotencuttin · « **Reply #30 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:28:26 pm »

sorry i haven't updated anything lately. been busy cutting my little personal log yard. i tried to burn a little piece sunday night and i think it stunk. wouldn't want to eat anything from that. kinda smelled like citronella or punk. i don't think its very heavy to lift.a couple pieces pulled the limb/spike out of the wood.it would split and sometimes it would split hard but it would not split clean, it would tear more than i would say it split. thanks for all the help. harold

stumpy · « **Reply #31 on:** July 22, 2009, 07:55:15 am »

I vote for Silver maple

DanG · « **Reply #32 on:** July 23, 2009, 08:23:39 pm »

Good going Coyote! You've made a positive ID. It's a nothickory!

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Author Topic: help identify the tree (Read 3757 times)