Good website for wood/bark ID??

[kayakkeith]

So I have been trying to find a good site that ID's wood by the bark. Cant find a real good one - any ideas

 

[smokinj]

I had one for Indiana hardwood but cant find it now..lol

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The problem is bark changes significantly over the life of a tree. That's why you get so many differences in answers when people throw a pic of a round up and ask for ID. Vanderbuilt college has a great ID site, but you would have an easier time IDing from leaves or buds/twigs or even tree shape will be more successful.

http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/frame.htm

A good book is Trees of the Northern United States and Canada by Farrar.



Matt

 

[cygnus]

What we really need is a good site that helps identify by the split wood. You can pics of leaves. bark and tree structure anywhere. Pics of the wood...now that's what we need!

 

[nrford]

What we really need is a good site that helps identify by the split wood. You can pics of leaves. bark and tree structure anywhere. Pics of the wood...now that's what we need!

That would not help most novices. Some species, ie. soft and hard Maple, are difficult at times even for the well trained eye. After 25 years in the hardwood lumber industry, as a trained lumber inspector and sawmill owner, I have learned that the two together( bark and appearance of the wood) are your best indicators. And every once in a while you will still be suprised.

 

[nrford]

If you search out veneer manufactures, a lot of them have photos of various species of wood on their websites

 

[EatenByLimestone]

What we really need is a good site that helps identify by the split wood. You can pics of leaves. bark and tree structure anywhere. Pics of the wood...now that's what we need!

How would you organize the site so you could find what you were looking for? If you had a split in front of you, How would you know where to start looking? If the members here just posted pics of splits with a tag under them that said, "Red Oak" you would still need to go through a huge list of species before finding the correct pic. One would have to organize the pics in some way.

Matt

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Not to blow smoke up yer arses and give y'all big heads.....but I have ALWAYS gotten great ID's from an obscure site called hearth.com. The collective minds of many are always a good barometer to go by. I havent been let down yet.

....and Smokin Jays usually spot on,anyway.

 

[thewoodlands]

So I have been trying to find a good site that ID's wood by the bark. Cant find a real good one - any ideas

This not what your looking for but still a good read.

https://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/PB1692.pdf




Zap

 

[cygnus]

I'm a novice but I'll say that if the tree has leaves it's fairly easy to figure out what it is adding in the features of bark and any flowers or fruit. But, when scrounging, particularly in the winter, all you have is the bark and the wood. Wood being 50% of the info you have for ID, but no way to use it.

I picked up a few rounds at the curb last week. It sure looked like Honey Locust but the bark was wrong. The ridges weren't nearly deep enough...looked like maple bark to me but was no way maple. It wasn't until searching the site for Honey Locust did I find that my wood was Mulberry. The key being that the wood was very yellow. When you look up a tree in any of these ID books or sites it shows the tree in all its glory, shows a close up of the leaves, details the bark...where does it say the wood is yellow?

Wood classification might be difficult but not impossible. How about categories like this:

Color: Yellow, red, white, light brown, dark brown
difference in sapwood/pulpwood color: yes/no/sometimes
stringiness?: scale of 1 to 5
(what are those veins in Oak called?): yes/no

This is just of the top of my head. There have to be more characteristics. Am I really that out of my mind?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The streaks in oak are called metallurgy. Out of your mind, no. I believe it will be harder than it appears to put it together though.

In winter the easiest way to tell for me is the bud. A quick way to rule out many trees is to remember MADHorse. Maple, Ash, Dogwood and Horse chestnut all have opposite buds. If it doesn't have buds, look for hints that it has a compound leaf or is a legume. All legumes, like the honey locust, will have a twig that zigzags.

Matt

 

[Jaugust124]

Try this book - National Audubon Society: Field Guide to Trees. Tons of pictures and descriptions. Cost about $20 at Barnes and Noble

 

[SolarAndWood]

....and Smokin Jays usually spot on,anyway.

That's only because Silver Maple is what most people are trying to get rid of. Kind of like betting on 7 if all rolls were equal in a game of craps.

 

[Woody Stover]

National Audubon Society: Field Guide to Trees

That's the one I've got; North American Trees, Eastern Region. Leaves (autumn too,) flowers, fruit.
But like Matt says, the bark can be all over the board, nothing like what they picture in the book.
Taxes finally done, may look at pretty flowers tomorrow.

 

[fossil]

Have you checked the resources available by simply clicking on the first yellow sticky at the top of the Wood Shed page?

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/51096/

Rick