Mystery tree?

[Woody Stover]

I helped a neighbor out, cutting up some limbs that came down in the last storm. I took the bigger butt ends, some Cherry, Silver Maple, Walnut, and this stuff. Judging from the way it cut, it's nothing special but I'm just wondering what it could be? Opposite leaves.


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[NordicSplitter]

Looks like a Basswood (Linden) tree. I have one in my frony yard. Thats my guess.

 

[maxed_out]

+1 Linden looks like a good call. If it splits easy then its not elm and you should be thankful for that.

 

[phatfarmerbob]

it may be some kinda hickory looking at the leaf

 

[thewoodlands]

I helped a neighbor out, cutting up some limbs that came down in the last storm. I took the bigger butt ends, some Cherry, Silver Maple, Walnut, and this stuff. Judging from the way it cut, it's nothing special but I'm just wondering what it could be? Opposite leaves.


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Looks like Nutmeg Hickory.



Zap

 

[Intheswamp]

I'm with Zap in thinking it's in the hickory family. Don't most compound opposite leaved trees make good firewood?

Ed

(WARNING!: Rank newbie talking here.)

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Well I'm gonna say it's some type of Ash; look at the edge of the cut piece and you'll see in the center it has that little "pinhole" that Ash has. The second picture of just the limbs looks almost like Mountain Ash to me, fellas.....

Post a picture of a split piece so we can see the grain....

 

[wooddope]

Leaves are not mountain ash in my opinion.Looks alot like a hickory type leaf,not sure which type,but all are good btu's.

 

[Wood Duck]

Opposite compound leaves like the ones in the pictures mean the tree is definitely an Ash, and I mean a regular ash in the genus Fraxinus, not a mountain ash which is a completely different plant. Mountain Ash leaves have a lot more than 7 leaflets, and each leaflet is toothed. Compound leaves mean it certainly isn't Basswood, which has simple leaves, and opposite leaves mean it isn't a hickory.

I don't know for sure which Ash that is, but why not White Ash? Looks like White Ash to me. I think any Ash will have high-quality firewood.

 

[smokinj]

Well I'm gonna say it's some type of Ash; look at the edge of the cut piece and you'll see in the center it has that little "pinhole" that Ash has. The second picture of just the limbs looks almost like Mountain Ash to me, fellas.....

Post a picture of a split piece so we can see the grain....

+1 on Mountain Ash.

 

[DexterDay]

One of the few I can identify. Bark and leave say.. Thats an Ash. Get and split it. Be good and ready this year.

 

[dannynelson77]

Yea I too say Ash.....

 

[Bocefus78]

Ash

 

[firefighterjake]

Looks more like some sort of ash to me . . . not like any basswood we have around here. Basswood I see here have very large, heart-shaped leafs.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Thanks for the Ash "support"; the only thing that is throwing me now is the first picture where part of the tree is cracked off you notice the heartwood is brown inside....are all these pictures of the same tree?

PLEASE split a piece and post a picture of the grain so we can see it-thanls!

 

[NH_Wood]

+1 for everything WoodDuck said. Cheers!

 

[Woody Stover]

Thanks for the Ash "support"; the only thing that is throwing me now is the first picture where part of the tree is cracked off you notice the heartwood is brown inside

Yes, same tree. The tree split and grew as two stems early in its life. I've seen this type of dark area in other trees where they split and grew with two "trunks."
I haven't gotten back over there yet but when I do, I'll get a pic of a split.

 

[CTYank]

Looks more like some sort of ash to me . . . not like any basswood we have around here. Basswood I see here have very large, heart-shaped leafs.

Roger that.

And the smaller limbs shout "white ash" to me, though the lower trunk bark ridges say "I could be green."

 

[Brewmonster]

Wood duck has nailed it down for you. He's the guy you want to listen to.

 

[Brewmonster]

BTW, nutmeg hickory is a rare species found in a very limited range in the deep south.

 

[Intheswamp]

Opposite compound leaves like the ones in the pictures mean the tree is definitely an Ash, and I mean a regular ash in the genus Fraxinus, not a mountain ash which is a completely different plant. Mountain Ash leaves have a lot more than 7 leaflets, and each leaflet is toothed. Compound leaves mean it certainly isn't Basswood, which has simple leaves, and opposite leaves mean it isn't a hickory.

I don't know for sure which Ash that is, but why not White Ash? Looks like White Ash to me. I think any Ash will have high-quality firewood.

Wood Duck, you just gave me an education. When you posted the bolded text above I couldn't figure it out....hickory leaves "look" opposite to me and your statement didn't seem right. I sat out to figure out what I was missing. I got to surfing the net for pictures and after looking at bunches of them it suddenly dawned on me that it's the three leaves at the tip of the compound leaf that make the hickory alternate-leaved. Rather than the hickory's tip leaf growing on it's on "stem" it sprouts from the same bud as the two side leaves, whereas the ash's tip leaf grows from a very evident "stem".

I'm slow, but I'm getting there...kind of wobbly, but gettin' there!

Thanks,
Ed

 

[Wood Duck]

I am not sure you have it right. The leaf on a hickory or ash is a compound leaf with a stem and several leaflets. The leaflets could easily be mistaken for a whole leaf, but in these trees the stem holding the leaflets falls off the tree each year, so the whole structure is the leaf. The leaf stem can be fairly sturdy, but it is not woody. In your pictures you show a single leaf on a piece of the trunk. It has seven lealets. There is one at the tip and the rest are in pairs, so there are almost always an odd number of leaflets on ash and hickory leaves. The number of leaflets is a hint at what type of tree you have, but the number varies even on the same tree.

The opposite arrangement of leaves refers to the whole leaf, not just leaflets. On an Ash tree you will see that normally a leaf growing from one side of a twig is matched by another leaf growing from the same position on the stem but on the opposite side. This creates a distinctive pattern of pairs of leaves growing from the twigs. In a hickory you would see a leaf growing on one side of the stem, and another leaf growing from the other side of the stem an inch or several inches farther up the stem, not directly opposite. The hickory arrangement is called 'alternate' leaves, the ash is called 'opposite' leaves. Typically the twigs growing from a branch would have a similar arrangement - opposite or alternate like the leaves. You can find a few apparently alternate leaves on an opposite-leaved tree where one of a pair is missing, but you should not find any opposite leaves on an alternate leaved tree.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

No leaves needed to rule out hickory, just look at those growth rings.................

WB

 

[Intheswamp]

I am not sure you have it right. The leaf on a hickory or ash is a compound leaf with a stem and several leaflets. The leaflets could easily be mistaken for a whole leaf, but in these trees the stem holding the leaflets falls off the tree each year, so the whole structure is the leaf. The leaf stem can be fairly sturdy, but it is not woody. In your pictures you show a single leaf on a piece of the trunk. It has seven lealets. There is one at the tip and the rest are in pairs, so there are almost always an odd number of leaflets on ash and hickory leaves. The number of leaflets is a hint at what type of tree you have, but the number varies even on the same tree.

The opposite arrangement of leaves refers to the whole leaf, not just leaflets. On an Ash tree you will see that normally a leaf growing from one side of a twig is matched by another leaf growing from the same position on the stem but on the opposite side. This creates a distinctive pattern of pairs of leaves growing from the twigs. In a hickory you would see a leaf growing on one side of the stem, and another leaf growing from the other side of the stem an inch or several inches farther up the stem, not directly opposite. The hickory arrangement is called 'alternate' leaves, the ash is called 'opposite' leaves. Typically the twigs growing from a branch would have a similar arrangement - opposite or alternate like the leaves. You can find a few apparently alternate leaves on an opposite-leaved tree where one of a pair is missing, but you should not find any opposite leaves on an alternate leaved tree.

Thanks again, Wood Duck. I think you've got me on the right path now. I was wrongly looking at the leaflets as leaves themselves, rather than the entire compound leaf as being...a leaf. Pecan trees are common yard trees down here so I'll go out in the morning and check the leaf arrangement out. I've gotta work on my tree identifying....hopefully I can get out there before long, but getting in the woods in this 100F temperature along with our wonderful humidity is rather intimidating!

Thanks for getting me back on track!
Ed

 

[Woody Stover]

I'm going to the guy's house tomorrow, so I'll get a pic of the split.

Pecan trees are common yard trees down here so I'll go out in the morning and check the leaf arrangement out. I've gotta work on my tree identifying....hopefully I can get out there before long, but getting in the woods in this 100F temperature along with our wonderful humidity is rather intimidating!

My SIL (doesn't know much about wood) scored some rounds from someone she knew. A lot of it was Sassafras, which I suggested she to give away, but there was also about 1/5 cord of Pecan. There's another small Pecan that's to be cut, so she's going to get that as well.
I'm having fun trying to ID these trees; It's like detective work. And when you get out there and start looking around, the variety of species is a mind-blower. One thing I missed out on this Spring was using the flowers to ID trees. That window doesn't last too long.

I was checking your "Hourly Weather Graph" at NWS. The humidity down there goes down around 30-35% mid-day for the six days I could look at. 100* is still hot though. Maybe that low humidity there is just a fluke there for a week or so, but up here we consider ourselves lucky if it dips below 45% during the heat of the day. :lol: