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Tree Identification Help

Started by jfeir, January 21, 2005, 08:54:18 AM

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jfeir

Hi,

I have been trying to identify this deciduous species. The non-native tree occurs in Denver, CO.

I have clickable thumbnail images of it at:

http://jfeir.home.att.net/dendrology/dendrology.html

It has a distinctive reddish brown fibrous inner bark that is visible in some of the images. It also has a noticeable, sort of earthy odor.

Thanks in advance,

John Feir
Evergreen, CO

Texas Ranger

any leaf pictures or description?
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

jfeir


Tom

If it were around here, North Florida, I would have jumped on Loblolly Bay. Even the pictures look like it

I'm not dismayed though.  I would still like to offer a guess.  

Black Willow looks a lot like the wood and bark you have pictured.  Usually this tree lives in roadside ditches and is mowed regularly, so adult trees aren't seen or at least noticed.  The tree does get fairly large and provides some pretty wood that is used in cabinetry.  It has bark, as an adult, that looks like your pictures and there is a reddish, fibrous layer beneath the bark.  It is usually quite straight grained and splits easily, though firewood from a large tree would be a waste in my opinion.

The book list this tree as deciduous and it's range may even reach colorado.since it is found as far north as Ohio.  

It needs a lot of water so it may help you to identify it if it grew in a constantly wet place.

It's just a guess so more info would be welcomed. :)

jfeir

Thanks for the info. Could be that but I find it extremely difficult to split and the wood is very heavy.

I think one possiblity is Slippery Elm.


Jeff

I think it looks like balm of gilead. The outer bark could easily even pass for aspen grown around here. I certainly think its in that class type of wood, perhaps some type of poplar.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

populus

I think Jeff is right, it looks like a poplar of some kind. The flat bark ridges look like poplar, possibly a hybrid, especially with the light-colored lenticels.. There are a lot of poplar hybrids around.  Annual rings are consistent with hybrid poplar - really fast growth.

Furby

I REALLY stink at tree/log I.D., so this don't mean much. ::)
My parents have several trees that look almost exactly like that in their yard. Those trees we were told were a hybrid popular.

My grandma has a large slippery elm along her driveway, and it isn't even close to your pictures.

Peel off a piece of bark. Is the under layers like a brown paper?

jfeir

Yeah, I'm starting to think it is some kind of poplar.

It's extremely hard to split though - harder than elm and dense. Maybe this is just twisted, dense wood from near the base of the tree?

You guys certainly know your stuff.

Minnesota_boy

Balm of gilead is hard to split mostly because the wood is soft and absorbs the force of the blow.  An ax could enter nearly 2 inches or maybe more from a good swing, but won't do much else.  Hydraulic splitters usually work quite well on it.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

SwampDonkey

I would say its black cottonwood, which is a sub species of balm of gilead (balsam poplar). I say this because of its location and most of its natural range is west of the rockies, from Alaska to California. Balsam poplar is more wide spread and its range is mainly in Canada, NE states and lake states, with isolated pockets to the south, excluding the west coast. I can't really tell the specieas apart as their leaves and sticky, smelly buds are similar. The difference is mainly in the fruit and size. The black cotton wood grows to 50 m in height and the balsam poplar is half that. They hybridize where the range overlaps.

balsam poplar balsamifera       black cottonwood trichocarpa
2-valved, glabrous (smooth)   3-valved, pubescent (hairs)

More info here
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

jfeir

Could be, but the bark is not thick at all.

It's under .50 inches including the inner fibrous reddish brown stuff.

SwampDonkey

The bark would be thick on really old trees mostly. But, poplars are not real dense and heavy like maple. You may have an elm. If your near the sight you cut the tree, see if you see birch-like leaves by the stump with saw-toothed edges. This may be a species of elm. American elm is not real heavy when air dried either. Maybe some of the other elms I'm not familiar with are dense and heavy woods. American elm is near impossible to split by hand ad it can break a good wood splitter. I know because my uncle tried to split one with dad's wood split, and brought the splitter back bent outta shape, and didn't offer to fix it.  >:(
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

jfeir

I wish I had some leaves. I think it is a distinct possibility that it is a species of Elm. Most people on this forum seem to think it is a poplar however.

You actually broke a hydraulic wood splitter on an Elm?

SwampDonkey

Yup, mounted on a 150 HP tractor. Normally, folks just leave them alone or haul them out to the brush pile to burn in the fall around here. We haven't many left because of 'dutch elm disease', which was first discovered (in NB) 30 miles south of here.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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