Tree ID Help

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Ericl1982

Member
Jun 4, 2014
13
Minnesota
I am new to identifying trees as well as wood burning. I have been working hard on my three year plan all spring and summer long. I have come across a couple of these trees. They all have been down for a couple years so I have no leaves or fruit to help me identify it.

I am located in east central MN. When looking here at what native trees are available I thinking it might be hickory or elm.

(broken link removed to http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/education/treeforallseasons/nativetrees.html)


Can some one please help me figure out what type of tree this is?

The rounds are very heavy and pretty wet. It feels like a pretty hard wood so I am guessing the weight is not all coming from the water. I just cut this one last night and split it up. The bark just seems to fall right off.

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help
[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help

[Hearth.com] Tree ID Help
 
Im just guessing but Im gonna say Red Elm. The bark looks soft to me. Like you can easily rub pieces off with a gloved hand. Not hickory. Also the proportion of sapwood to the heartwood is small. Hickory is valued for its white sapwood. There is one hickory that is mostly heartwood but I dont know which one it is.
I also came across one Red elm in my woodlot that had very dense tight growth rings. Meaning it didnt get any sunlight. Hickory is slow growing and does have tight growth rings like that
 
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but Hickory usually in a wooded area will have been attacked by wood boring bugs. It is well favored for food by many borers. I went thru your tree list and was amazed that MN has almost all of our eastern trees. My guess on other possibilties could be Eastern hophornbeam(very heavy dense wood) but the sapwood proportion is wrong. If the wood stays heavy after its dried, you are golden, no matter what it might be.
 
Thank you for the input. I was king of thinking it was elm because some pieces where very stringy when split. Thanks again!
 
Also with the Red Elm(or Slippery Elm) the inner bark gets really slimey and exudes a clear gelatinous snot which will cause the bark to seperate like that and attrack black mold.
 
Maybe some type of Ash....Green or Black?? I'm only familiar with White Ash....
 
I originally was going to say red oak, but red elm is my best guess. Tight growth rings. Whatever it is it should be very good once dried & seasoned.
 
Red Elm
 
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