Ash or Norway Maple? Wood ID

[Applesister]

Im still sticking with Ash, because of the bark on the smaller limbs like someone said. And the thickness of the inner bark...the orangey tan. The inner bark is too thick to be Norway.
The splits display the growth rings.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Is there a pinhole on the flat cutside? That's usually Ash. And many times I've seen green moss grow on Ash like that; can't really say the same about Norway Maple and I have one in my backyard.

 

[tsquini]

Norway Maple

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

To add to the plot, it looks like Norway, but not 100% sure.... I will send u pics of mine......

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I've got this...... And only this.....
It has a nice beige color inside......

 

[TreePointer]

Small branch/twig with buds and leaf scars will confirm species.

 

[farmboy05]

Don't mean to take over the thread, but I have the same question.

 

[gzecc]

Don't mean to take over the thread, but I have the same question.


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Norway Maple

 

[Razo]

Wow so Norway maple can either be orange inside or bright white the whole way through?

Small branch/twig with buds and leaf scars will confirm species

I'll give that a try next week, what am I looking for exactly?

 

[gzecc]

Wow so Norway maple can either be orange inside or bright white the whole way through?




I'll give that a try next week, what am I looking for exactly?

I think that orange your referring to is wet.

 

[farmboy05]

It was from a tree that blew over late last fall or this winter. Just found it as I was going through my grove (almost all soft (silver) maple in there, so I jumped on this like stink on ...) I'll take MM measurements this evening and edit this post to include the numbers I come up with. If there is even one knot in the round of this stuff it is WAY harder to split then my soft maple.

EDIT: The darker area must be because of moisture. The dark area tested at 50% and the lighter tested at 36%. Also, the darkness on the ends of a couple were starting to fade.

 

[gzecc]

It was from a tree that blew over late last fall or this winter. Just found it as I was going through my grove (almost all soft (silver) maple in there, so I jumped on this like stink on ...) I'll take MM measurements this evening and edit this post to include the numbers I come up with. If there is even one knot in the round of this stuff it is WAY harder to split then my soft maple.

Norway maple is very difficult to split. Also is not easy to season. IMO, it must be left small in single rows for one complete yr.

 

[Razo]

That's contrary to what 2 other users have said, they said Norway could be ready for next winter if split and stacked now. I just need to get a damn moisture meter already, I'm dragging my heels going to harbor freight, I would be amazed if my store even has it in stock. I don't even know what isle that would be in. That way I could just check it next winter, if its not under 20% then I know its not ready.

 

[gzecc]

That's contrary to what 2 other users have said, they said Norway could be ready for next winter if split and stacked now. I just need to get a damn moisture meter already, I'm dragging my heels going to harbor freight, I would be amazed if my store even has it in stock. I don't even know what isle that would be in. That way I could just check it next winter, if its not under 20% then I know its not ready.

I never burn a piece of wood that has been stacked less than 1yr.

 

[TreePointer]

I'll give that a try next week, what am I looking for exactly?

As we all know, bark and wood of different species often look similar, but buds and leaf scars almost always are very different. It's a great way to ID trees when there are no leaves. Click on the links below. Carefully read the descriptions of the twig for each species. There also are pictures of twigs that you may click on to enlarge.

Norway maple
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=6
White ash
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=46
Green ash
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=48

If you really want to get into tree ID without leaves, this is a great little booklet:
Winter Tree Finder

 

[Razo]

I never burn a piece of wood that has been stacked less than 1yr

Would you still not burn a split that was sitting for less than a year even if it was below 20% mc? It can be difficult to try and wait when you are first starting out and are far from a 3 year plan. If you have that luxury I guess its great but moisture content would be the bottom line wouldn't you agree? So if a split is checked and its below 20% then its good to go regardless of how long it has been sitting right? I understand sometimes moisture meters can be off, especially cheap ones. I guess its best to let it sit one year plus just to be safe. And go by the moisture meter if you are desperate and need wood before it has sat a full year.

As we all know, bark and wood of different species often look similar, but buds and leaf scars almost always are very different. It's a great way to ID trees when there are no leaves. Click on the links below. Carefully read the descriptions of the twig for each species. There also are pictures of twigs that you may click on to enlarge.

Thank you for these links! I'm going to study them a bit

 

[Razo]

So from what I'm reading it seems like Ash has leaf scars and twigs are a gray olive color, maples don't have leaf scars and the twigs are more brown

 

[TreePointer]

So from what I'm reading it seems like Ash has leaf scars and twigs are a gray olive color, maples don't have leaf scars and the twigs are more brown

There are maple leaf scars, but they aren't as noticeable as many other species. The buds on a maple are clearly different from ash trees. In fact, most maple buds are will be similar enough to other maple species that it's a good way to differentiate them from ash trees (and others). This time of year the buds will be swelling, so size descriptions in tree guides may not be the best determinant. The pattern and general shape of terminal and lateral buds will still be observable.

The leaf scar on the white ash is a good tell for the species. It's a big white scar that smiles at you, and a bud sits in the smile. The green ash leaf scar doesn't have the big smile of white ash leaf scars, and a bud sits on top of the scar.

 

[nrford]

Don't mean to take over the thread, but I have the same question.


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I believe this one may be Black Ash.

 

[tsquini]

Don't mean to take over the thread, but I have the same question.


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Ash

 

[gzecc]

I believe this one may be Black Ash.

Could be.

 

[Woody Stover]

moisture content would be the bottom line wouldn't you agree? So if a split is checked and its below 20% then its good to go regardless of how long it has been sitting right?

Besides the meter, you'll also start to get a feel for the heft of the splits. You can tell when they're really dry (like 16%) pretty easily....the meter is more useful when the wood is still around 20%. Some splits will be wetter than others from the same batch, and that's where the heft test is useful, as opposed to re-splitting and testing a bunch of them.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

And you mentioned Norway and Ash both have opposing branches?

Remember this acronym: MAD Horse = Maple, Ash Dogwood and Horse chestnut These are the only hardwood trees with opposing branches.

 

[husky345 vermont resolute]

Norway maple