elm ?

If your cutting a lot of elm in Iowa like I do it does have an odor to it. Lots of folks around here call some elm trees Chinese elm which is a false hood since Chinese elm is a small ornamental tree that really wont tolerate the climate here in Iowa. The elms I dump will literally piss moisture out when cut depending on where they are growing. The good news is that when split they give up that moisture pretty quick and burn well.

The way I understood it was that elm (American elm) supposedly smells like urine when cut/split while fresh cut. It never bothered me enough to stop cutting elm . . . well that and the elm I do tend to cut tends to be standing dead with no smell.

Around here in East Tennessee, I've had some of my older ancestors tell me, if you have some wood and you just really don't know what it is for sure, just say that it is pi$$ elm "pronounced L em" and go on about your business with a smerky grin.

Piss Elm/ Slippery Elm Kind of a invasive spieces When relatively green there is a mucus under the bark and yes when splitting green the round can be like a shower head and has a scent like urine. Not much American Elm around due to the bug a bunch of years ago. Most elms now are hybrids of one mix or another.

American elm doesn't smell all that great either. I'm betting its american elm. It's everywhere around here.

American or red(slippery) elm are the piss types because of their smell and liquid. Years ago I was at a forestry demonstration showing how to core and count growth rings on a live tree. We tapped an elm and it "pissed" a good healthy stream for a couple minutes. The forester told us they hold a lot of moisture under the bark especially when they are stressed.

The other elm you may see is Siberian. It has smaller leaves, is the first to get them and last to loose them. Siberian elms multiply like crazy and have weak branches. They have a lot of moisture also and less heat value than the American or red elm.