Firewood ID (pic)

Hello,

I've never been able to conclusively ID this wood from web searches, so I figured I'd try the experts here.

I'm in NW NJ and this stuff is down everywhere after Sandy. The trees, when standing, are rather large and have few or no branches until the top. The bark is thick and cork-like, and peels off very easily after sitting for even a short period of time.

I'm guessing it's yellow poplar??

Black Locust. Get all you can! Best firewood there is in my opinion.

The yellowish wood and tight rings make me think it could be Black Locust. I can't see the bark very well, which would help. Pictures of twigs would also help, and of course pictures of any leaves would make ID easy.

No question it's Black Locust.

Yep, definately looks like Black Locust. As stated above yellowish wood and that deep bark tell the answer. Oh yea, also can't miss the P. I. vine on the side. Grab all you can but watch it.

I saw that P.I Vine, and recocnized it from the tree I helped my buddy cut up.....yup, got it on both wrists and top of the hand. Using Caladryl Clear at the moment, along with Benidryl.....was using some stuff called "Ivarest"....worked great, but had an ingredient that wouldn't go with the Benidryl and had to hold off on it.

Excellent! Thanks for the quick replies.

Every search I did for yellowish wood seemed to return Yellow Poplar as the type, but this stuff is very hard and somewhat of a pain to split. Glad to hear it's good stuff because there are 20+ small ones (8"-12" diameter) and 4 or 5 big ones (2'-4') down within a couple acres. Plus a large assortment of Black Walnut, White Oak, Maple, and Hickory. Good scroungin'.

I learned the hard way this past summer about the PI vines on these. It was too hot for a long sleeve shirt and I thought if I was careful I could avoid it... Instead I ended up with my forearms and wrists covered with it. I've since worn long sleeves tucked under gloves and haven't gotten a spot of it despite handling it quite a bit.

Black locust dries out nice. Handling the splits - they have tiny splinters that get you. Also - it is prone to throw alot of sparks when burned - usually when you vent the stove before you open the door to reload. I - kind of like that aspect of locust. A great scrounge.

If that's Sandy wood and that PI vine wasn't already dead, it's still active. I've found it takes a year or two after they are severed for them to not bother me in this climate. In arid areas, it can take up to five years for them to no longer pose a threat, according to the PI experts.

Almost every BL I have cut or still have on my property has a poison Ivy vine on it. Congrats on the scrounge.

Nice score. Get all you can.
PI wouldn't keep me away either. Just be prepared for the stuff & keep stacking up locust