Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Can anyone help ID this wood? Turns the red/brown after exposed for about a year, fresh cut is the yellow. Heavy/solid wood, on par if not heavier then oak.
I think it is either Osage Orange or Mulberry. I rarely cut either one so I am not sure which. I also never cut Red Elm which is the other possibility that comes to mind.
Wood looks like either Mulberry or Osage/Hedge,they are botanical cousins so to speak.But bark looks more like Osage.Mulberry is roughly the same weight/density as Red/Black Oak,bit less than the various White Oaks.Osage/Hedge is almost 20% heavier than the Oaks.
Whichever one it is,you got some great wood there.Especially for those bitterly cold mid winter nights.
I think it's hedge apple (Osage). It's a darker yellow than mulberry. That looks like the bark as well. I got a decent load of both hedge & mulberry last week. Hedge is a very dense & heavy wood. Mulberry is too, but hedge is heavier.
I was thinking mulberry too, but I had never cut it before nor is it very common in the area I picked it up from. The tree was cut 1-2 years ago and left in the woods, that could be partially to blame for the different coloring.
I think mulberry because the bark doesn't look like any of ther hedge I've got growing around me. But it doesn't matter if its osage orange, a.k.a. hedge, or mulberry they are both great BTU producing woods. Neither of which you would want to burn in an open fireplace or fire pit cause both can spit burning further than cousin Nate can spit watermellon seeds!
This is the bark from a hedge (aka osage) stave on my porch - sorry, kinda blurry. But mine is a much younger tree. That might be hedge ya got. bark doesn't look quite like the older trees, but could be. If the leaves were kinda oval with points, and the thorns made limbing a PITA, it's osage. Three fingered "Mittens" for leaves would be mulberry. Have a mulberry CSS in my stacks,pretty sure bark is similar but more flakey. I'm guessin' mulbery but "hedging" that....hahaha
Ive burned plenty of mullberry , Looks like mullberry to me excellent firewood. Hav'nt burned much hedge. Like others have said there both great btu woods. enjoy
Mulberry & Hedge will start to lose that yellowish or yellowish orange in a few days once its exposed to light & air.I have some Mulberry in the stack that's 2yrs old now & its a dark chocolate on the ends,like Black Walnut.And some green Mulberry that's barely 6 weeks old that's the typical golden brown,the color changes rapidly at first,then slows down.
Sorry chvymn99, came from down in the ozarks. Was collecting firewood for my dad and ran across it, in KC mulberry tree's are a dime a dozen but down there they are hardly ever found. I usually ID them by the purple stained ground, never really paid much attention to the bark/wood before.
I actually grabbed it from the pile in hopes it was mulberry, gonna chop it up and dry it to be used as smoking wood. Have a few 8' sections of wild cherry that can be seen in the picture that are going to meet the same fate.
...I got over 2 cord of hedge and 2 cord of locust to burn this year anyways... Just throwing that out there for the jealousy factor.
Yea, all my hedge is bucked just waiting for the splitter and time. I just saw that your from this area, figured I'd throw that out there.
The cherry should make some excellent smoking wood. I've heard that you can use hedge, but use it sparely as too much can taint the palate. But Thistle got me started on smoking with Mulberry. I started moving some I've my mulberry from firewood to smoking wood.
Any smoking tips? Strong/overpowering or pretty much foolproof? (being a fool myself, I gotta ask). I've heard you can even smoke with black walnut, just have to use it very very sparingly.
I am probably going to be collecting around a cord of mulberry this winter, its all 8-10" trunk base but at least its free.
Smoke food with low heat and lots of smoke. Some folks use a separate container to have the fire in and pipe the smoke in to remove as much heat as possible. Looking at the flue of butcher shops that are actively smoking meats you will see real thick black tar creosote dripping from it.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.