Tree I.D. (Thorn Bush?)

[DexterDay]

I went to my buddies house and started cutting all his dead Ash Trees, but I had to take quite a few of the "Thorn Bush" trees as an exception.

It seems like its a good hard wood. It took almost 7 of these trees to get a decent truckload. They were about 20' tall, and only around 10' of good trunk (some less than that). Nothing that a 16" bar couldn't handle. With most being about 10"-12" in diameter.

Has anyone burned this stuff before? Is it a decent wood? I spent quite a bit of time knocking 90% of the 3"-6" thorns off the trunk. Took all day to get this load...

A pretty Orange colored wood, that smelled good, w/ a lighter heartwood....

 

[DexterDay]

Also some pics of yesterdays excursion getting some Ash.... The ash has been standing dead 2 yrs or better (lots and lots of Ash). May be burning just Ash after the stash I have now is gone. Also gonna give my Oak from last year even more time

 

[weatherguy]

Im just guessing Dexter but isnt that what you guys in the midwest call hedge or Osage Orange?

 

[DexterDay]

Im just guessing Dexter but isnt that what you guys in the midwest call hedge or Osage Orange?

No. Or at least I dont think so???... OO grows Monkey Balls. He has a few of those too... Or maybe thats what I thought OO was?? It sure is Orange though... And pretty hard and heavy.

 

[thewoodlands]

Dexterday, looks like you picked up some nice firewood. We have some ash on our woodlot but not much.

zap

 

[weatherguy]

No. Or at least I dont think so???... OO grows Monkey Balls. He has a few of those too... Or maybe thats what I thought OO was?? It sure is Orange though... And pretty hard and heavy.

You would know better than me since we dont have much if any around here, I was just guessing based on the color and the thorns. Im sure someone will know what you got there.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Dexter, that looks very much like the thorn apple trees we have here. They are the ones that don't let you forget how to fix a tire.

It will burn okay but most times it does smell a bit. It dries a bit slow. I really don't like the stuff and it is rare for me to cut one up. I've done a few in the past but haven't for several years not. I just don't like it at all. However, the wood you cut is larger than the trees we have so you should get good heat from it. It is dense, so should rank up towards the top of the chart. If you want more, come and get it. You can have all you want to cut, thorns and all.

 

[jackatc1]

HI Dexter.
Is this what you have?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus

 

[midwestcoast]

I would also say Thorn Apple or Hawthorn as I've always known it. We had it where I grew up but honestly I don't remember ever using any for firewood since it stayed small & was all twisted & covered with thorns. Not easy wood to process that's for sure!

 

[Thistle]

Sounds like a species of Hawthorn alright.Only seen 2 trees around here,both were no bigger than 4" diameter & 20' tall.At edge of woodland right next to 7 acre cornfield on farmer's land west of parents acreage.That was 20 yrs ago,I walked to the spot where they were a few months back & didnt see any sign of them.Back then I clipped off a few thorns with pruning shears,glued them in a few random 3/16" holes in a small piece of Padauk wood & sprayed them with clear lacquer as a 'conversation piece/paperweight' art sculpture thingy.Some of those individual thorns were over 2" long! Heard from 1 of my Uncle's & a few others that they would penetrate tractor tires as easily as Honey Locust.I can believe it.

 

[DexterDay]

I would also say Thorn Apple or Hawthorn as I've always known it. We had it where I grew up but honestly I don't remember ever using any for firewood since it stayed small & was all twisted & covered with thorns. Not easy wood to process that's for sure!

It wasn't easy... And I didn't want to do ot, but he said if I helped him do that, I could have all the dead standing Ash trees...

It took all day to get a full truckload. Small, bushy, thorny, twisted trees. But I have about 30 more Ash trees that are just on the fields edge. Not counting what's inside the woods...

We do what we have to, to get wood. Whether its on our own land, a scrounge, or families and friends...

Now the hard part is done. I can go back at my leisure.

 

[Woody Stover]

Im just guessing Dexter but isnt that what you guys in the midwest call hedge or Osage Orange?

You would know better than me since we dont have much if any around here, I was just guessing based on the color and the thorns. Im sure someone will know what you got there.

Hedge is a neon yellow when fresh-cut...

 

[Oregon Bigfoot]

Absolutely, that's hawthorn. I cut some the last couple of years. It burns great, about like apple. It splits easy too.

 

[Duetech]

Hawthorn or at least what I know to be hawthorn. About as good as apple or white oak for btu's. Actually a little better than ash on the btu chart. Not a bad looking tree but on my "hit list" of botanical undesireables because of the thorns.

 

[tymbee]

Has anyone burned this stuff before? Is it a decent wood? I spent quite a bit of time knocking 90% of the 3"-6" thorns off the trunk. Took all day to get this load... ....

LOTS of thorn apple around here as well. In fact I've been cutting up a pretty large thorn tree and a few smaller ones about 100' from my office here. Given it's apt to have branches intertwined and is a real pain to pull apart (and potentially quite painful!) I typically cut up the larger more manageable trunks, and drag the rest to the burnpile.

In my experience it burns as well as most other hardwoods.

 

[BobUrban]

Thornapple/hawthorn for sure. And some darn large examples to boot. Most we have around here are not worth cutting(size wise) even if they did not have the daggar thorns. I did burn some this winter that I had cut a while back when clearing trails and found it was a good heating wood but not fun to work with.

On a side note - the deer love it late in the fall leaning towards winter. By December much of the good ag mast is gone and very little greens left so the Hawthorn apples become the food of choice. Prior to that the deer walk on past. I imagine they are not as tasty or nutritious as other options and only become a food priority when little else is available. If I put a scout cam in the hawthorns before December I get nothing or just passers by - in December I will fill a memory card in a night or two with deer just vaccuuming up those little, bitter, dried out apples.

 

[DexterDay]

LOTS of thorn apple around here as well. In fact I've been cutting up a pretty large thorn tree and a few smaller ones about 100' from my office here. Given it's apt to have branches intertwined and is a real pain to pull apart (and potentially quite painful!) I typically cut up the larger more manageable trunks, and drag the rest to the burnpile.

In my experience it burns as well as most other hardwoods.


]

Yep. Only took the trunks. The rest we took back and piled up...

Well. There is a bunch more of it. But he only wanted these few gone. So now I can go and get all that dead Ash.

Nice to know its decent wood though. Also, taking off all the thorns now was a good idea. Next fall I may forget and then get a quick lesson in pain again [/IMG][/quote]

 

[jackatc1]

Scroll down to read about culinary use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus

 

[ScotO]

That thorny apple is great in the smoker! I also use it for tool handles, makes great tomahawk hafts, and I even made a stomper for the meat grinder out of it. I save all the chips from the lathe for the smoker.....

 

[tfdchief]

I agree, Hawthorn, not hedge.