another wood ID

[iron]

i bike commute to work every day (29mi). been passing a nicely stacked pile of logs and finally could resist no more. from a distance, i thought it might be big leaf maple, but now i'm not so sure. maybe alder?

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

Deff a soft wood. No big leaf where I live. Bark and chevron marking at the branches is very similar to the poplars in my area, but not sure if poplars are in your neck of the woods. West coast guys will have to call this one.

 

[bhildreth]

If that leaf stuck to the side of the round is from the tree, then it is poplar.

 

[iron]

that leaf is a weed methinks. i split open a few pieces today and believe that it's alder. super easy split. clean straight grain. dark band of wood in the center 2" of the round. will post pics from daylight hours.

 

[blacktail]

I don't think it's alder. The ends of alder turn dark red/orange shortly after being cut. And alder is a uniform color from the center on out to the bark.

 

[iron]

big leaf maple then? i've heard that splits hard sometimes b/c the grains are intertwined.

i need some pics...

 

[blacktail]

Out of the common native trees, I'm gonna guess cottonwood because of the brown middle section. The bark of maple and cottonwood can look similar.
Maple isn't hard to split.

 

[iron]

damn, i hope it's not CW. i know some stuff i split earlier this year had a similar appearance and smelled like piss. this piece doesn't smell, so maybe there's hope it's a young cedar? it was quite heavy... bad signs

 

[blacktail]

Your original pictures are definitely not cedar. Cedar has very distinct bark and smell.
Could be a non native species...or cottonwood.

 

[StihlKicking]

My vote says poplar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[iron]

bark seems different that the poplar pics i'm seeing. this is pretty smooth and thin.

 

[mike van]

I'm looking at a stand of poplars out my window right now, and they look just like your wood -- Too late to dry it for this year, but it'll work next. Better than burning leaves. Or oil.

 

[iron]

no worries. this is 2019 wood.