Birch or Poplar

[troy-pit]

I am trying to figure out what type of wood this is. Seems to be either birch or poplar. Also how long should I season this wood before burning. It was from a tree cut down this past winter.
Thanks

 

[Locust99]

That is poplar, I would split it as soon as you can and you might be able to burn it this fall.

 

[pernox]

Looks like poplar from where I sit. A good way to tell is by feel. The bark of poplar will often be oily or waxy to the touch, where white birch will feel dry like paper. Another hint is in the smell - poplar always smells earthy or wet to me. It can also smell pissy or like manure.

Nice job with unzipping them either way. Good practice to be in.

 

[gerry100]

Looks like birch to me.
Unzipping helps but w birch splitting would be good
Bark is waterproof, Indians made canoes out of it

 

[SeanBB]

Looks like birch to me, especially as its been unzipped but I have no experience of poplar.
If it is birch keep it off the ground or it will rot very quickly. If you split it now it may be ready to burn early 2018.

 

[sportbikerider78]

The birch around here are whiter and have shaggier bark. But there are many poplars that look like that.

 

[troy-pit]

Thanks a lot. Seems I am still confused as to what this is. It feels pretty dense and heavy if that helps.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I believe it is White Birch that the woodpeckers enjoyed pecking at! The tight bark on that piece that is standing up so we can see the end cutside looks like it. Whack a piece open and show a shot of the grain, but I'm sure that is Birch although I initially thought Poplar until I took a good clear look at it with the picture expanded.

 

[johneh]

I think it is white birch . I have never seen popular
with sap sucker holes but I have seen a lot of birch that way.

 

[Locust99]

If it was white birch that size it would definitely have at least some peeling bark. Also where the branches come off on poplar there is typically that dark eye shape looking bark. I have a lot of poplar around me, and they all look just like that, easier to distinguish on a living tree though because of the lower bark turning rough.

 

[gerry100]

Looking from my PC instead of iPhone - it's Birch. Birds punched the same hole pattern in ours.

Poplar around here- ends show cracks as it dries and when it's dry it's like picking up a rolled up newspaper

 

[Grateful11]

Doesn't look like the Poplars we have around here, which are mostly Tulip Poplar.

BTW: We just lost a 2' diameter Poplar last Sat. to a bad storm, snapped it right off.

 

[firefighterjake]

Birch . . . white or possibly gray birch.