SUMAC ??

[cg711]

I picked up some wood that I think is smooth sumac - it was bucked and left on the side of the road so no leaves to help with ID -about 8" in diameter and the bark is pretty smooth. It was pretty heavy - ( heavier that oak of comparable size )
I do not see it listed on any BTU chart. Anybody ever burn this stuff ?

 

[begreen]

I've never burned it, (or at least not for a very long time) but it's supposed to be pretty good firewood.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/4241/

 

[JustWood]

Sumac is not heavy, you may have something else.

 

[Vic99]

Sumac does not usually get very tall either. I'm guessing 15 ft-18 ft. In New England it is a common "short tree" along highway median strips, quite noticeable in the fall since its very long, thin, parallel leaves turn a striking red color.

 

[homebrewz]

It sounds much too big and dense to be sumac. I'm not sure about the main trunk, but the branches are soft and pithy in the center. I hollow them out and use them for maple tree taps.

 

[sullystull]

You may have Ailanthus altissima. Commonly referred to as tree of heaven. A non-native known to grow up to 20 ft in a year.
http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederick/2004/non-native_plants.htm
(scroll down)

 

[savageactor7]

I use staghorn sumac as an ornamental and it's rare they get to that 8" diameter and they are lite to the heft...but that is about the max diameter that ironwood will get and that IS real heavy. Never burned it though...reckon if it heavy it'll burn good though.

 

[glacialhills]

Can you add a Picture of the bark and rounds so we can take a better stab at it?

 

[cg711]

Thanks for the replies -
I had already split and stacked it by the time I posted, but I think that Sullystull provided my answer. I thought that it was walnut at first but after researching it have concluded that it is Chinese Sumac, mostly based on the description of the bark which looks like the skin of an off color cantaloupe.
I read that it is used as firewood and for charcoal in some less developed countries so hopefully it will burn well.