Newby looking for wood ID

[learnin to burn]

Hi All,

I've been lurking for a few weeks now getting to know the place and I must say it is an awesome site. I have some wood I was told was swamp (red) maple but it seems more like a soft wood. I truly don't have a clue. It burns real fast, is extremely light, (almost like balsa wood), and pops and sparks for a while when first put in the stove.
I don't have a link for the pics but I did upload them. There are 3 different splits from the same hunk of wood.

Thanks

 

[johnsopi]

Tulip Poplar

 

[JustWood]

Tulip Poplar

YEP!

 

[learnin to burn]

Thanks guys, I was thinking that based on some of the other id's.

 

[Cazimere]

Looks like Crack Willow to me : )

 

[savageactor7]

Bark looks like maple to me.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Looks like Crack Willow to me : )

Yep, I'm going with Crack Willow, if not, then some other species of Willow, for sure.

 

[Bubbavh]

Sweetgum!

Do spikey balls fall from it?

 

[gyrfalcon]

FWIW, your wood looks and behaves very much like a good deal of the c/d/s wood I have, but as far as my supplier (not a dealer, a local guy who knows his trees) told me, tulip poplar was not in the mix. He did include a lot of what we call "soft maple," which around here basically means red maple, and as far as I can tell, there's nothing else in my supply that could be it except for the stuff that looks like yours.