Ash or willow?

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Split

Member
Aug 28, 2022
165
Nova Scotia, Canada
Looking for an ID on this wood. It's mixed within my cords all from my wood guy. He was saying there was ash in my cords but I really never thought this was ash. I thought it was willow. However today I went to compare the bark to the willow tree in my neighbors yard. It sort of looks like it but I noticed how twisty the willow was. All of my splits that I thought were willow are very straight. They're also heavy and the least dry splits of my stacks I've been drying this season. The inside wood is very blonde it looks so fresh and green but it's not.

Just wondering.

Thanks

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Ash x3
 
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Ash x4. Although the bark of each can look very similar to your picture, I think Willow always has a distinctly darker heartwood.
 
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Ash x4. Although the bark of each can look very similar to your picture, I think Willow always has a distinctly darker heartwood.
That. (at least for Western European willow...)
 
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I don’t know how it is in other places, but in my area there’s a lot of ash in the “hardwood mix”. And many times ash is being sold by itself too. The EAB is hitting us hard now, so lots of it being cut for firewood and lumber.
 
Haven't ever bought firewood, but I can tell you that EAB sure is keeping the tree services busy. If they're not treating them, then they're cutting 'em, I wouldn't be surprised if ash makes half or more of all the firewood being sold around here, the last few years.
 
Peel that loose bark off... I bet there are EAB tracks under there...
 
Peel that loose bark off... I bet there are EAB tracks under there...
Yeah tomorrow I'll be going through sone of it to see if I can see signs of EAB. I'm not sure how extensive it is here in Nova Scotia but I know it's here. We've already lost almost all our elms in our area from Dutch elms disease and now we'll be losing g our hemlock as well. We have some real nice old growth hemlock forests here. Shame.
 
Looking for an ID on this wood. It's mixed within my cords all from my wood guy. He was saying there was ash in my cords but I really never thought this was ash. I thought it was willow. However today I went to compare the bark to the willow tree in my neighbors yard. It sort of looks like it but I noticed how twisty the willow was. All of my splits that I thought were willow are very straight. They're also heavy and the least dry splits of my stacks I've been drying this season. The inside wood is very blonde it looks so fresh and green but it's not.

Just wondering.

Thanks

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In eastern Ontario the EAB has devastated our ash trees. Making up 5% or our forests this is a huge loss!!!!! Its killing my black ash too, which is rare to begin with.
 
... then there's Thousand Cankers for Walnut, and Red Oak Borer killing red oaks across the country. Fun times.

I will say, of all the trees I've planted in recent years, the half dozen Princeton Elms seem to be thriving. I don't think I've ever seen another hardwood tree grow nearly as fast as these, shooting from less than 10 feet to roughly 30 feet in just two years. The various oaks planted at the same time have only grown perhaps 30%, and the burr oaks are hovering between same size and dead, although the insane cicada population in 2021 may be most to blame for that.
 
I don't know willow but it looks like ash. I love to burn ash.
 
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maybe Mountain Ash at least that is what they call it here, don't know a fancy name for it
 
i ran it through the phone camera on lens and it brought up ash on 2 picture
 
All good, if willow wasn’t the first or third. 🤪
 
The funny thing about my ash though is that all of it grew some greenish mold on the cut face while drying. All my other species' dried as normal. Perhaps this is normal for ash? I'll get a pick or two.

I believe the ash was the greenest of the wood I received. It's not a matter of sunshine or air flow because there was lots.
 
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Here are some picks. Not sure why only the ash got this type of mold/algae growth. Maybe it's just part of the process with ash. Just kinda thought I'd mention out of interest.

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My ash does not grow that green stuff, it dries up nice and clean.
 
Same here. I’ve had mold like that on maple though. As long as it’s dry it will burn just the same.
 
Fwiw the ash that was covered under my overhang out of the rain looks great (as far as I can tell) and the uncovered stuff has that. Once again very well ventilated and in sunshine all day in the summer.

Since I'm on the topic of ash, I noticed some saying it's okay to burn green. Also, I noticed the MegaOhms for ash (for moisture with a dmm) is less than 1. Any reasons for this for all who care to answer?

Many thanks for the posts!