Wood ID

Norway Maple.

dapperistdan said:

thanks claydogg, how do you tell it apart from the other types?

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While I'm not 100% sure, Norway Maple has bark sort of similar to White Ash, but the diamond patterns aren't quite as uniform. Plus, I have 2 in my front yard

White ash , distinctive dark dot at center ,similar to Norway maple , but def ash

mark cline said:

White ash , distinctive dark dot at center ,similar to Norway maple , but def ash

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Could be. I would know for sure if you snapped a pic of a split piece.

Not familiar with it but put me down for Norway; Wood doesn't look like the White Ash I see here. Split one; I think that would seal it. Ash would have a more grainy split surface, Maple would be pretty smooth:

Norway Maple

Yep, split sure looks like Maple.

It absolutely is Norway Maple, not Ash.

dapperistdan said:

sounds like its a decent type of wood.

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I think it's between soft Maple and hard, output-wise.

My experience with Norway is that it is pretty mediocre. Norways are ornamental maples that were planted because they grow pretty quickly. We have a ton in the 'burbs where I live. We cut down two on our little lot and I still have three more out back.
I found that even CSS it needed almost two years. 7 or 8 months just isn't enough. Once it is seasoned, it burns up pretty quickly. Not a bad wood to mix in with some good stuff, but I wouldn't want to burn it exclusively.

I think its a grade above mediocre. Norway is denser than Red maple and the hardness is close to sugar maple. My house is completely surrounded by them. I can see where DEC would list them as invasive because their helicopter seeds have a very high germination percentage. I have baby seedlings all over the lawn every spring.
One thing though, Norway has really thin bark and the wood posted has thick inner bark. Im gonna say no on it being Norway. And I dont mind being wrong.

I have 2 yard trees. One is a sugar maple and the other is a Norway maple. Both were planted at the same time and about the same size. I am not a fertilizer freak so my trees must make use of what they can find. After .37 years they are about the same size, around 16 inches dbh, so my bet is each would provide about equal BTUs per cord. If I was one of those 3 times a year fertilizer guys both would be double their present diameter if they were still standing. Mine sail right through the ice storms and high winds and I help my neighbors that fertilize heavily remove all the broken stuff after any severe storm. Their trees are larger at dbh but do not have the nice balanced look of mine because they have lost so much over the years. Don't confuse the inherent quality of a tree with how poor it becomes when over fertilized.
I have to agree with applesister, the bark on my Norway has split open more than once over the years because it is so thin and is susceptible to freeze damage. It also heals well but leaves behind the tell-tale marks.

I think you have a couple different types actually, and Norway looks like its in there, but several of the pics are not Norway maple.
All those shots are not from the same tree.

Applesister said:

I think you have a couple different types

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That's what I thought at first, but could be the bark is different on smaller limbs that are farther up the tree...