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  1. Machria Minister of Fire

    joined: Nov 6, 2012
    857 posts
    Brookhaven, Long Island
    Man, hit the jackpot! Found 4 downed Locust tree's, not huge but decent size, along with a bunch (10 or 15) other tree's.

    The top one is Locust, but what is the other tree? There are a few of these, nice fat(but not too fat!) , straight tree's downed.

    Trees1 crop.JPG
    #1

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  2. bmblank Member

    joined: Jan 17, 2013
    196 posts
    Michigan
    Looks like a poplar of some sort on my small screen. Nice straight grain, but burns like paper.
  3. StihlHead Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 24, 2011
    1,302 posts
    PNW Cascades
    If it were here I would say cottonwood which gets that milky bark look after a while. Cottonwood is in the poplar family, but harder to split and smells bad when burned. Cut it open and see if there is grey-green or yellow heartwood. I would plunder the locust and leave the cottonwood/poplar.
  4. Machria Minister of Fire

    joined: Nov 6, 2012
    857 posts
    Brookhaven, Long Island
    Oh, the Locust is going, or coming home, whichever way you want to look at it! Even though I have nowhere to put it, and the wife is going to have a fit when she finds it laying in the middle of my yard! ;)

    Does Cottonwood end up getting white stuff that looks like "cotton" when it blossums/flowers in the spring? Is that where it gets it's name from? Cause there is alot of those tree's around my hosue that get that "cotton" white stuff when blossoming in spring. Almost looks like it's snowing when it starts coming off the tree... I wonder if this is one of those? I never payed any attention to the tree trunks/bark before.
  5. Applesister Feeling the Heat

    joined: Dec 5, 2012
    288 posts
    No its not cootonwood and yes the tree disperses its seeds in the " cotton."
  6. basod Minister of Fire

    joined: Sep 11, 2009
    791 posts
    Mount Cheaha Alabama
    The alien looking bark tree in question looks like winged elm
    Never seen one that size - this a total wild guess
  7. Applesister Feeling the Heat

    joined: Dec 5, 2012
    288 posts
    Sorry everyone. Sounded too sure of myself.
    I really have never seen anything like it.
    I hope someone can identify it.
  8. Applesister Feeling the Heat

    joined: Dec 5, 2012
    288 posts
    If its Winged Elm he should grab it. Im looking at a BTU chart from Woodheat.org that has Rock Elm as the top BTU wood. Dont know if Rock Elm and winged Elm is same. But.....
  9. Foragefarmer Member

    joined: Jan 14, 2013
    131 posts
    Central, Virginia
    That is tree of heaven, Ailanthus. Not worth your time. If there is a tree with no redeeming value whatsoever it is Ailanthus.
  10. BEConklin Member

    joined: Jan 5, 2013
    48 posts
    Connecticut
    I'm with Foragefarmer....Ailanthus
  11. bmblank Member

    joined: Jan 17, 2013
    196 posts
    Michigan
    I figure its free... Even if it burns like crap, it still burns. You're looking at a return infinity btu per dollar.
  12. Jags Super Moderator

    joined: Aug 2, 2006
    11,515 posts
    Northern Illinois
    It could be the Tree of Heaven, but I also see qualities of Elm in it, but my guess would be slippery elm.
  13. Machria Minister of Fire

    joined: Nov 6, 2012
    857 posts
    Brookhaven, Long Island
    Well, I needed to get out and get some excersize yesterday so that Black Locust, and 2 more next to it, are now cut into 36" lengths and laying in my backyard, soon to be converted to 18" large splits! ;)

    But I still don't know what the "mystery" tree is. And there are 3 or 4 of them similar to this one's size down for picking, so I'd like to find out if it is any good or not. I don't have anymore storage space, but if it's a good tree, I'll make space! I ran out of light/time yesterday finishing off the Locust, so I never got to cut open the mystery tree. I'll try to do that and split a piece and post a pic, maybe that will help identify.
  14. Woody Stover Minister of Fire

    joined: Dec 25, 2010
    3,478 posts
    Southern IN
    Lots of Slippery (Red) Elm here, none with bark like that...
    If it's marginal even, and it sounds like it's gonna be below that, I would pass. Your wife is not going to be happy if she has to scrape off snow and ice because you filled the garage with iffy wood and parked her car on the lawn. ;lol
  15. Cross Cut Saw Feeling the Heat

    Woo Hoo! You might have to crank that stove up to 225::F!;) Party time!
  16. Ralphie Boy Minister of Fire

    I'm wth the others on the top, black locust. The bottom one, and its friends, aren't trees at all, they're shape shifters from deep with in the Gamma Quadrant, maybe Rigal 5, sent here to see if there is intelligent life on earth.
    Scotty, beam us up!;lol
  17. midwestcoast Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 9, 2009
    1,409 posts
    NW Indiana
    No idea wtf tree #2 is, but the bark looks nothing like the Cottonwood or (slippery) Red Elm we have here. Both are much deeper furrowed and darker.
  18. Machria Minister of Fire

    joined: Nov 6, 2012
    857 posts
    Brookhaven, Long Island
    Ok, cut the 3 Black Locusts up and hauled home today. So I cut a few pieces of the other tree, and split it open to take a few pics. Now can anyone identify it? It was night time with a lit on so the color is off. It is pretty light in color, an off white color wood with a tinge of yellowish color. It had one dark spot in the middle. Easy to cut with chainsaw, and split really easy. The pics are of a 5 or 6" round part of the tree.

    Any ideas?

    image.jpg

    image.jpg
  19. weatherguy Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 20, 2009
    2,717 posts
    Central Mass
    Is it light or heavy when you pick it up?
  20. weatherguy Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 20, 2009
    2,717 posts
    Central Mass
    After looking through 100 different pictures of tree bark this one looks the closest to what you have, this is a picture of chinese elm

    [IMG]
  21. mtneer New Member

    joined: Mar 29, 2011
    45 posts
    huntington, wv
    Paulownia tree
  22. StihlHead Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 24, 2011
    1,302 posts
    PNW Cascades
    Tree of Heaven is about as bad as cottonwood... for poor heat. With that greenish-yellow center wood in those photos, I would still say cottonwood or poplar (same genus: Populus). Cottonwood here only gets furrowed when its a lot older. Smaller trees have a white smooth bark that turns a faded milky white like that when they are dead or seasoned.
  23. Wood Duck Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 26, 2009
    3,773 posts
    Central PA
    That unknown tree in the first picture looks like Ailanthus to me. I think it will be light wood, it will stink when cutting, but it will burn. If you have lots of other wood to cut, I'd cut the other wood. If you don't, I'd take the Ailanthus and see how it burns. You'll read lots of comments on this forum that are more or less "I'd never bother with X or Y wood. It is crap that won't burn, makes a pile of ashes, smells bad, wastes my time, causes warts,, ruins your stove, etc ..." I try to give each type of wood a try before I write it off.

    On a more personal note, I wouldn't bother with ailanthus because it is crap.
  24. Machria Minister of Fire

    joined: Nov 6, 2012
    857 posts
    Brookhaven, Long Island
    I don't think it is that Chink Elm, but does have a similar look... I'd say it is medium weight, not light and not heavy. The tree has been down since Irene, a bit over a year ago, but it's not rotting or anything, still pretty solid. But it is fairly soft wood, as I said it cut real easy. But then again I was cutting Black Locust which is like cutting rock, so switching to this tree made it feel soft. It not seem to have much smell when cut, but it was 10* out, so maybe it was just too frozen.

    Hmmmmmm. Mystery wood for sure.... Seems to be a varying opinion on it. How else can I find out?

    Ps-Wood Duck, if its a low btu wood, that could be a good thing for me. I have lots of Red Oak, Maple and Black Locust, with just a tad of some Pine, so I could actually use some lighter wood for the warmer days....
  25. weatherguy Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 20, 2009
    2,717 posts
    Central Mass
    It didnt look like any of the pictures of Ailanthus bark I looked at but at different stages of growth it could look different, if Wood Duck says thats what it is Id be inclined to go with his opinion as he seems to nail most of these mystery woods.

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