Another wood ID!

[mojoliveshere]

Hi all,

I have a lead on some rounds but I'm not sure what they are. I'm on Southern Vancouver Island and surrounded by Garry oak. That's my first guess but the rounds are a lot lighter than I thought they would be. They've been cut 2 or 3 years and a quarter round split with one confident strike of the axe.... My maybe just very dry? If that's the case I think I've always been burning wet wood... :/

Any thoughts?

 

[mojoliveshere]

Hi all,

I have a lead on some rounds but I'm not sure what they are. I'm on Southern Vancouver Island and surrounded by Garry oak. That's my first guess but the rounds are a lot lighter than I thought they would be. They've been cut 2 or 3 years and a quarter round split with one confident strike of the axe.... My maybe just very dry? If that's the case I think I've always been burning wet wood... :/

Any thoughts?

View attachment 299634 View attachment 299635

 

[RomanW]

Looks like Poplar to me

 

[Ashful]

Looks like Poplar to me

That would agree with the light weight statement, but that bark doesn't look like any poplar I've seen around here. Google "poplar bark", and you will see.

Oak is always easier to detect with the nose, than from a picture of old mold-darkened rounds. Your two close-ups show bark that's a dead-ringer for northern red oak, the sapwood of which does rot fast, if stored on the ground. Given the high ratio of sapwood to heartwood, I suppose it's possible that's what it is, especially if you tell us the outer four inches is like styrofoam, but the core is still solid.

Other than that, what's it smell like when you split it?

 

[Riverbanks]

I'm with poplar, he's got a 2' round, 4' of the ground on the pile, lol, if that was oak it would be on the bottom, and I had to look up Garry oak, that's a new one to me

 

[RomanW]

That would agree with the light weight statement, but that bark doesn't look like any poplar I've seen around here. Google "poplar bark", and you will see.

Oak is always easier to detect with the nose, than from a picture of old mold-darkened rounds. Your two close-ups show bark that's a dead-ringer for northern red oak, the sapwood of which does rot fast, if stored on the ground. Given the high ratio of sapwood to heartwood, I suppose it's possible that's what it is, especially if you tell us the outer four inches is like styrofoam, but the core is still solid.

Other than that, what's it smell like when you split it?

The bark looks similar to the poplar up here, but now that I look at it, the ones that have bark removed, I haven't seen any of my poplar start checking up the sides like that. It usually starts at the ends and splits wide along the sides... It's a mystery! (So far..) lol

 

[Riverbanks]

Nah, you hit the nail on the head, the first pic has a piece in the middle, with a rotted, snapped off limb, that's common looking for the poplar here

 

[Riverbanks]

I'll did look up the Garry oak, it's a white oak, doesn't this one more resembles a red?

 

[Ashful]

I guess there are so many flavors each, of both white and red oaks, that it's impossible to say. But yes, given those we commonly come across here in southeastern PA, the bark looks very similar to what we usually identify as red oak, not white.

But I won't argue the poplar assessment, and I wasn't really arguing for oak, I was just commenting on the appearance of the bark. Except in some very obvious cases (eg. ash vs. walnut), it's always difficult to make a confident assessment from a few photos of old and blackened wood posted to a forum, alone.

 

[Riverbanks]

Yep, we need a pic of Garry oak, I just read a article, no pics

 

[RomanW]

I guess you'll really know when you burn it. Fast and hot is Poplar (And lot's of popping), slow and low I would imagine would be Oak

 

[DonTee]

I vote for poplar. Or big tooth aspen.

 

[mojoliveshere]

Thanks to everyone for weighing in on this question! This forum is fantastic.

I'm quite congested so I can't smell much at the moment. I will once the cold clears, maybe that will give me some clues. I took a look at poplar and can see why you all think that might be the case. If so I guess I'll have some decent dry but fast stuff to get the fire going. I bought a station wagon's worth, mainly because it was so dry.

I've attached pic of the Garry oak growing next door. The bark's appearance is almost identical to the rounds I bought, but thicker. Would oak bark condense /
flatten out when it dries?

Anyway, if anyone on Southern Vancouver Island has any hardwood they're looking to offload, let me know! : )

m

 

[stoveliker]

Those yellow leaves are not garry oak imo. Looks more like locust.

 

[johneh]

Looks more like locust

Locust in behind the oak look at the leaves at the top of the photo (green ones)

 

[mojoliveshere]

Locust in behind the oak look at the leaves at the top of the photo (green ones)

This is correct. I was trying to focus on the oak's trunk.

 

[Riverbanks]

Yup, thanks for that picture, a new one to me, is that pic common of the tree? The original pic resembles a straight trunk tree, no crazy bends like this one

 

[mojoliveshere]

Yup, thanks for that picture, a new one to me, is that pic common of the tree? The original pic resembles a straight trunk tree, no crazy bends like this one

Common i'd say, the branches are notoriously bendy. The base truck is often quite straight and free of branches for a storey or so.