Tree Identification

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Caw

Minister of Fire
May 26, 2020
2,555
Massachusetts
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On average I'm counting 13 leaves. 6 opposite pairs and a terminal leaf. My first guesses:

Ash - The bark doesnt look right.

Hickory - I dont see the classic bigger 3 leaves at the end of the cluster. I also don't see any nuts growing.

Sumac Varietal - Its awfully big for a Sumac. It's just as tall as my mature red maples.

What do you think? Sorry I cant get a better leaf picture, there arent any low branches.
 
Could be Walnut!
 
It could be a dying ash tree. I have dozens of 'em.
As they die the bark goes white. Or, it could be a dying black walnut.
 
Top looks like walnut. Bark does not. At least not like the black walnuts around me.
 
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Dying ash makes more sense than walnut to me based on my location. Just the bark is throwing me off. No low branches to check the grain on sadly.

Not too many black walnuts around here. Plenty of ash for the EABs to munch on. Bastards!
 
I got a load of this very same wood awhile back from the local compost site and was told and believe it is English Walnut!
 
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I got a load of this very same wood awhile back from the local compost site and was told and believe it is English Walnut!
That's an interesting guess. It does look like a walnut. And does not look like American black walnut.
 
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When would I expect to see nuts? There aren't any as of now.

Its definitely not a black walnut. I was able to find a recently downed branch in the brush (the tree is on the edge of the property leaning into my yard) and the wood is a consistent light yellow. No dark heartwood.
 
When would I expect to see nuts? There aren't any as of now.

Its definitely not a black walnut. I was able to find a recently downed branch in the brush (the tree is on the edge of the property leaning into my yard) and the wood is a consistent light yellow. No dark heartwood.
Yes this was a lighter color grain also. I saw huge stumps from this tree as well as Black Walnut together at the compost site and it certainly looked like it was "related" to the Black Walnut.
 
My initial stab is Carpathian walnut, a hardy variety of English walnut (Juglans regia).
https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=856
The bark is right (a lot lighter and smoother & less ridged than black walnut), although my recollection is that they typically have fewer leaflets than depicted in OP post.
English walnut is a non-native walnut, seen occasionally in urban and suburban areas. Grown for its nuts.
Confirmation for walnut: take a pen knife and slice tangentially through a twig. Walnut twigs are chambered, hickory is not.
 
Im going with sumac, you'll know in a month when you start getting red bud like seeds on it, I have a couple really big sumacs by my house, those trees multiply like crazy to.
 
I think we can safely eliminate two groups:

Ash - Zooming in with my phone I am fairly confident I can see the tree has alternate branching therefore not ash.

Sumac - I have a LOT of staghorn sumac on my property and their fruit is starting to get pretty large. We make lemonade with it. However there are no fruits on this tree. Here is some staghorn invading my wood pile:

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I have to pull up new growth weekly and trim back branches annually. They are hyper invasive...but they are beautiful and tasty so we keep them. They just require heavy maintenance or they will take over a strand.
 
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It is a butternut. Looks heathy too. They are often ravaged by a canker disease. Beautiful trees.

I think we have a winner. I had never heard of this tree until now but it fits the description! Its a little odd to have only one of them and it to be on the edge of my property basically in the woods. I'd expect a small strand, it wasn't planted.

I'll check for nuts later this summer.
 
Also known as white walnut, its often misidentified as black walnut. The nuts are tasty, once you get by the sticky husk. They are also a squirrel delicacy. Once they start falling you better grab them quickly. I have seen a few in my years as a Forester and utility arborist. The tree is becoming more rare all the time.
 

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