Burl Tree

[SwampDonkey]

I would say bur oak to that one Gary, being as far north as you are. Manitoba has bur and no white. I think it would be more prolific there where your at. Those branches look burish to. Did you notice the finer branches were corky?

[Jeff]

Isn't a burr oak a white oak sub species?

[Gary_C]

That burl looks more to me like something like wire has grown into it.

I've never seen any wire in trees in the state forest lands and this is not really in a place where you would expect to see a fence. But from the bark damage of that other tree nearby, it could be skidder damage. Maybe cable damage from dragging trees from the lowlands just behind there.

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, they are.

Bur is more to the north in Minn. I believe.

Gary that horizontal line in that burl is very typical of wire fence we see around here in trees. But, maybe it's not an agricultural area there.

[Clark]

Good pictures Gary!  I would say that the second tree is a bur oak also.  Lots of epicormic branches on it even though the canopy hasn't been opened recently - classic bur oak sign...unless it is the counties poorest form red oak!

I really doubt that any or either of these trees are black oak.  The Silvics Manual shows the range being south of you.  I recall that in Stevens Point, WI there were some but that was the northern edge of the black oak range.

SD - Bur oak is the native oak of northern MN, there is some red oak but it tends to be of poor form, the further east you go the more red oak there is and the better quality.  I also notice less bur oak the further east in the state you travel which makes sense as it is well adapted to the prairie in the west.

Clark

[WDH]

The second on is certainly not black oak because the inner bark is not bright orange.  I have no experience with bur oak.