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  1. n3pro Feeling the Heat

    I got to get rid of it, don't know how much I can use very twisted, knotty, and funky but really curious - never saw one like this. Trunk is only about 3 feet high, looks like 4 of the same trees together.

    Attached Files:

    #1

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  2. smokinj Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 11, 2008
    15,410 posts
    Anderson, Indiana
    Jap Maple
  3. Lynch Member

    joined: Dec 13, 2010
    192 posts
    northern maine
    looks almost like a pot leaf
    lol
  4. kestrel Member

    joined: Nov 17, 2009
    80 posts
    Southcentral PA
    Sweet Gum?
  5. smokinj Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 11, 2008
    15,410 posts
    Anderson, Indiana
    .
    lol sould never forget how to id that one.
  6. Wood Duck Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 26, 2009
    3,757 posts
    Central PA
    That is a japanese maple. They are prety common ornamental trees and sometimes spread into the woods. That is about as big as they ever get. Probably not a lot of people have burned much Japanese Maple because they are usually small and all branch, no trunk.
  7. WoodpileOCD Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 19, 2011
    659 posts
    Central NC
    Definitely NOT a sweet gum. They are an absolutely useless tree in my opinion and I know what they look like. They drop these infernal (*%^$$) balls every winter and are all but impossible to get out of the yard. The wood is impossible to split by hand and very tough even with a splitter... No love lost here between me and sweet gum trees in case I didn't make that clear.. :)
  8. EatenByLimestone Minister of Fire

    joined: Jul 12, 2006
    4,114 posts
  9. EatenByLimestone Minister of Fire

    joined: Jul 12, 2006
    4,114 posts
    My guess is somebody tried to cut the bastige down when it was a single trunk and it sent up suckers that eventually formed one solid mass.

    Matt
  10. ChrisNJ Feeling the Heat

    joined: Sep 25, 2009
    371 posts
    Burlington County
    LOL huge lack of landscapers here, that is positively a Japanese Maple.
  11. billb3 Minister of Fire

    joined: Dec 14, 2007
    3,060 posts
    SE Mass
    There's a lot of variation in japanese maple leaves, from single lobes that look just like beech to many lobed that look more like pot leaves.
    That tree has the spreading branches that is more characteristic of ornamental maple than sweet gum, although the leaves certainly do look like sweet gum.

    With that huge split in the center I'm surprised it has never suffered from ice or heavy snow damage.
  12. Thistle Minister of Fire

    joined: Dec 16, 2010
    3,901 posts
    Central IA
    :lol: somethings you never forget alright,no matter how many yrs its been
  13. Bocefus78 Feeling the Heat

    joined: Jul 27, 2010
    464 posts
    Just Outside Indy
    Always amazes me when people plant trees directly under power lines.......

    If thats a Jap maple, its 2 things:

    1: The biggest one I've seen

    2: Worth a stack of $20 bills as tall as the tree if you can dig it up.


    My vote is sweet gum
  14. jlove1974 Member

    joined: Dec 8, 2010
    245 posts
    Piedmont of NC
    sweetgum is usually tall, straight with spindly limbs and few knots. This tree is none of those things, and looks like an ornamental. Jap Maple FTW
  15. jlove1974 Member

    joined: Dec 8, 2010
    245 posts
    Piedmont of NC
    also those power lines look more like low-running telephone and cable lines to me
  16. polaris Feeling the Heat

    joined: Jan 31, 2008
    418 posts
    KY.
    Agreed.(about the Japanese maple part) The Japanese maples I have planted out front cost several hundred $ each and after 10 years they are about 1/100 that size.
    Joe
  17. smokinj Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 11, 2008
    15,410 posts
    Anderson, Indiana
    I have seen people think that NOT The Case though....Sweet gum would have prickly balls all over that yard...Op Would not forget that..lol
  18. krex1010 Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 3, 2010
    661 posts
    southeast pa
    Japanese maple, I have one in my front yard. Actually they burn pretty darn good, the wood is very dense and hard.
  19. jlove1974 Member

    joined: Dec 8, 2010
    245 posts
    Piedmont of NC
    Ya I have two silver maples and had one BIG jap maple, and it had nearly the height of the other two in twice the lifespan, but was twice as broad before it died
  20. ChillyGator New Member

    joined: Feb 20, 2009
    329 posts
    NorthFlorida
    Jap maple....parents have one bigger than that in their front yard......maybe 35 years old.
  21. WoodpileOCD Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 19, 2011
    659 posts
    Central NC
    I with jlove on this. He's from my neck of the woods and we have plenty of sweet gums and this one in the picture is an ain't.. I've got one in my back yard that is 4-5 feet across at the base. Biggest one I've ever seen and if it weren't my main shade tree, I'd have it gone. Well maybe not because it would cost a fortune but I wish it were gone.
  22. midwestcoast Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 9, 2009
    1,389 posts
    NW Indiana
    I dunno about Sweet Gums or Jap Maples, but I can definitely tell you what that thing is in pic 5. Around here those don't grow on trees though.

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