Can't identify this wood...

Last winter, after our big snow and ice storm here in Oregon, I was cutting up all of the downed trees. One of them I wasn't able to identify, and when I recently came across that wood while filling my woodshed I again began to wonder what it was.

It is a deciduous tree, and since it was winter there were no leaves to aid identification. The wood is exceptionally dense, and very hard; density when green was greater than oak. The bark is smooth and dark gray - no mottling or fissures in the surface.

The most striking thing about the wood is that it had a definite purple hue when split. The bast (inner bark layer) was even more purple - a very saturated shade. I've never seen anything quite like it - very distinctive!

As the wood seasons the purple turns to a pale yellow. It seasons very slowly - after 8 months in the hot sun and wind, this stuff is still 30% to 35% moisture, when the fir split and stacked at the same time is 12-15%. The very center is still purple, though a muted shade.

The battery in my digital camera was dead, so I couldn't take a picture today, but I'll post one tomorrow (if someone hasn't identified it yet!)

-=[ Grant ]=-

Danno77 said:

could it be poplar?

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I'm not an expert on all of the poplar varieties, but the wood is much harder and denser than I think of poplar being.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Danno77 said:

i just can't think of anything that would be purplish other than poplar or cedar, but you said it was deciduous. I'm not the greatest at ID, so let's just give it a day or so and I bet somebody comes up with something.

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Just to be clear - cedar is a red color with sometimes a slight purple cast, but this stuff was just purple. Very seriously purple. So much so that I was shocked when I started splitting the unseasoned pieces last winter/spring (whenever the heck it was.) It literally looked as though someone had stained it.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Went out and got some leaves from the suckers that have grown out of the stump. The best fit for both leaves and bark is Pacific (or Mountain) Dogwood.

This was independently confirmed by a local woodcutter who took one look at a piece of the wood and said "looks like Dogwood to me!"

I haven't been able to nail down anything about the wood itself, though. Anyone?

(Still working on pics...)

-=[ Grant ]=-