tree id?

[BEConklin]

scrounged about a dozen rounds of this after a power company crew knocked off down the road. It was growing amongst mixed hardwoods in a not particularly wet area - though around here we're never too far from water.

It's medium to light weight for its size, splits easily, and has a clean smell.
Note the dark green under the thin grey bark....just visible on the top cut edge of the top log in pic 3.

I'm thinking maybe it's speckled or grey alder....any help?

(disregard splits on the ground)

 

[gzecc]

Looks like its time to go to the Beech. Never had any not sure.

 

[BEConklin]

I have beeches in the yard and though it's pretty close in appearance, it's a bit different as well. I did scrape some bark off the "known beech" and there was the same dark green under...and the smell was the same. So maybe you're right. But there's still something about it that looks different to me.

 

[BrotherBart]

Looks like the couple of hundred Beech trees on our place. I burn very little of it because the damn things never die or blow over and I can't bring myself to whack a live one. But the Beech I have burned is fantastic firewood.

ETA:

http://www.carolinanature.com/trees/fagr.html

 

[Richie]

Looks more like black birch to me. Even better yet.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I've only had Beech on a few occasions, but mine never split that smoothly; the splits were always more rough and jaggedy if that makes sense-some even seemed like they wanted to crack and break off rather than split cleanly. But you might have a different type there, I don't know.....nice looking wood though whatever it is!

 

[nrford]

ASPEN, AKA (popple, or poplar, at least on this site)

 

[BEConklin]

Looks more like black birch to me. Even better yet.

I've processed plenty of black birch (betula lenta) and it always smells strongly of wintergreen when fresh......this ain't the wood I know of as black birch.

That is the most common tree in my woodlot though and I agree -it's great stuff!

 

[BEConklin]

I'm leaning towards beech ...but beech was the most common tree in my yard as a kid and I grew up climbing them so I don't know why I don't recognize it. Something about this seems different...maybe it's a different variety.

 

[Fanatical1]

I think it's Beech, but nrford is not often wrong.

 

[Paulywalnut]

That's beech. Looks like hickory on the ground.

 

[paul bunion]

Doesn't look like beech to me. Can't finger what it is though. Beech certainly isn't medium to light in weight as the OP describes. Especially when less than a day from the stump.

 

[Pellet_Pete]

ASPEN, AKA (popple, or poplar, at least on this site)

Hmmm, interesting. I wouldn't have thought this if you didn't say so, but the branch scars and lenticels do make it look like a young aspen. Definitely not beech nor black birch, and awful big for an alder!

 

[nrford]

You folks can hem and haw all you want this is 1000% Aspen. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THE GROWTH RINGS. Beech is one of the slowest growing hardwood trees there is! No ifs, ands, or Buts it is ASPEN.

 

[BrotherBart]

Does this pic of a Beech from the link I posted look familiar?

 

[BrotherBart]

You folks can hem and haw all you want this is 1000% Aspen. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THE GROWTH RINGS. Beech is one of the slowest growing hardwood trees there is! No ifs, ands, or Buts it is ASPEN.

You need to find another line of work.

 

[BEConklin]

ASPEN, AKA (popple, or poplar, at least on this site)

I discounted this right off the bat - thinking of Populus tremuloides..."quaking aspen"

But I wasn't at all familiar with Populus grandidentata..."big tooth aspen" and, after looking over all sorts of images online - I think you may have it.

This image, in particular, closely matches the bark on the wood I have. That, combined with the lighter weight and larger growth rings.....

 

[Woody Stover]

I discounted this right off the bat - thinking of Populus tremuloides..."quaking aspen" But I wasn't at all familiar with Populus grandidentata..."big tooth aspen" and, after looking over all sorts of images online - I think you may have it.This image, in particular, closely matches the bark on the wood I have. That, combined with the lighter weight and larger growth rings.....

I've never see either tree but what I noticed was the horizontal irregularities in the bark of the OP's wood and in the book pics of the Aspens.

 

[BEConklin]

I've never see either tree but what I noticed was the horizontal irregularities in the bark of the OP's wood and in the book pics of the Aspens.

I think those horizontal marks are what threw me in the first place... I thought it might be some kind of birch when I first saw it along the road.

 

[nrford]

I discounted this right off the bat - thinking of Populus tremuloides..."quaking aspen"

But I wasn't at all familiar with Populus grandidentata..."big tooth aspen" and, after looking over all sorts of images online - I think you may have it.

This image, in particular, closely matches the bark on the wood I have. That, combined with the lighter weight and larger growth rings.....

Ya Think!

 

[BEConklin]

Ya Think!

Now now - knowledge and humbleness should always go together

 

[Backwoods Savage]

There is no question that beech and popple can be mixed up with each other. I recall one other time on this forum I was chastised for telling a member that he had popple but others insisted it was beech. That member did tell me later that he did find out for certain it was popple (aspen) but sadly did not mention it on the forum. I wish he would have but understand that feelings could have been hurt when they found out it was popple rather than beech. But, maybe a lot of us need a new occupation?!

 

[BrotherBart]

Taking the cat for a walk in the woods today I chuckled every time I walked past a Beech. With those horizontal lines in them. Told them all that they were stupid. They didn't know that they were Aspens.

 

[nrford]

Does this pic of a Beech from the link I posted look familiar?

Yeah that is Beech. The OP has Aspen.

 

[BEConklin]

Yeah that is Beech. The OP has Aspen.

The OP will have plenty of beech one day soon. This one is growing too dang close to the house for my comfort. Gotta hire an arborist.