Tree id

[Newt243]

This tree was dead standing with quite a bit of moss on it. Anyone have a solid id?

 

[Bobbob]

That is ash

 

[Newt243]

I was leaning towards ash but I haven’t cut any on my place so wasn’t 100% sure. I pretty much only burn oak, cherry and gum as that is usually what I find dead standing. Thanks!

 

[Doublebogey]

That is not ash. At least it’s not white ash. Whatever it is I burned a third of a cord of it this year and I went through at least a third of a cord of ash right along with it. Seemed light but burned long and gave decent heat.

 

[Jags]

I vote Ash

 

[gzecc]

I would identify the surrounding trees and the leaves on the ground. Looks like a wooded area.

 

[peakbagger]

That is partially decomposing Ash. Probably killed by the EAB, my guess is be real careful while dropping it and wear a hard hat as it might be dropping branches and then take splitter with you and split a round to see if its worth wasting your time. Usually in that condition, its not going to be worth it.

 

[Garbanzo62]

looks like the ash I am working on now. I am finding that some places are great and some are punky. Before discarding as it not being good enough, cut in a few places, it might change.

 

[Newt243]

I cut the tree down yesterday and definitely the top is punky. I do think I will have 30’ or more of good wood though. It was still pretty wet at the base where I made my cut.

 

[Woody Stover]

Bark sure looks like Dogwood. Wood doesn't look as pinkish as some, but it gets whiter if decomposition is starting to set in. Great, high-powered fuel, and that still looks solid enough to have plenty of BTU.

 

[Doublebogey]

Could be dogwood. Looks a little like the oak in this thread:

White oak or Sweetgum?

Potential craigslist score. The homeowner is calling it white oak. I have nightmares about sweetgum. Anyone smarter than me (and by that I mean everyone here) have an opinion? Very close by my house. Would either be an awesome score or a complete disaster. No middle ground it seems.

www.hearth.com

It is definitely not white ash. Ash always has that elongated vertical diamond pattern. My dad has 130 acres COVERED in ash. Almost all of it dead, but about 60 percent or more of it is still covered in bark. You can even see the diamonds forming in the younger limbs like in this picture. Third log from the left in the picture is not ash.

 

[Doublebogey]

That first picture just looks nothing like any ash bark I've seen.

Here is two pics of mature ash bark. I have no experience with green or black ash though. Could be one of those.

 

[Stinkpickle]

Yeah, that bark doesn’t look like the ash we have up here. It looks a lot more like dogwood.

 

[snojetter]

I agree most ash bark I've seen has the diamond pattern as the pictures @Doublebogey posted above. However, I've tackled several ash that have the scaly bark look as seen in the OP's first photo. The variety we have in my area is green ash. I'm nowhere near Arkansas, but if that tree were in my woodlot, it would be ash.

 

[Woody Stover]

When you split it, you may see the pink hue somewhere in that long trunk. I have to check to make sure I'm not cutting a live Dogwood; They can have a lot of bark gone, only a sliver left, but it's still getting enough water up to the top to grow leaves.
But yeah, I would wager a substantial sum on that being Dogwood. If you look around, I think you'll see more with that bark. When the leaves come, ID will be a breeze, and they also have showy flowers, right after the Redbuds go. They are pretty common here, probably spread from years ago when my wife's family planted them along the lane.
Even though they're not big trees, they are always a great score in my book. 👉

 

[Newt243]

I will probably buck and split it this weekend and will get some better pictures. I have seen several dogwoods on my farm when they are flowering but they have all been substantially smaller so that never crossed my mind on this one. I would guess it’s at least 12”-14”dbh and the main trunk is at least 30’ -35’ tall before it branches out. Typically see them 6”dbh and maybe 20’ total in height.

 

[Woody Stover]

I would guess it’s at least 12”-14”dbh and the main trunk is at least 30’ -35’ tall before it branches out. Typically see them 6”dbh and maybe 20’ total in height.

Same here, maybe 6" or so; I don't think I've seen one 12" in the woods here--They probably can't get enough light to get that big.

 

[Newt243]

Well turns out it is sweet gum! I couldn’t smell it when I cut a section out of the top of the tree after it was down because it was dry. Ended up bucking it and hauling it to the splitter this afternoon and as soon as I split one of the wetter pieces I immediately smelled it. I’ve burned gum before and other than it produces a good amount of ash I like it.

 

[Woody Stover]

Well turns out it is sweet gum! I couldn’t smell it when I cut a section out of the top of the tree after it was down because it was dry. Ended up bucking it and hauling it to the splitter this afternoon and as soon as I split one of the wetter pieces I immediately smelled it. I’ve burned gum before and other than it produces a good amount of ash I like it.
View attachment 311029

OK, I missed that one. I shoulda looked closer at the second pic in your original post. I woulda lost "a substantial sum" on that bet, I guess. 😏 Actually, the base of the log in the first pic has a similar bark look, though less pronounced, as a lot of the Sweetgum and Blackgum (Black Tupelo) that I see here. But I've never seen that flaky Dogwood-type bark on either of those Gum types. Now, I haven't cut any down so I've never examined the upper-branch wood closely...maybe they do have the flaky bark further up. I'll try to look up there from the ground..
Did you see any "spiney balls" around the base of the tree? Sweetgum has 'em, but I don't know if it always does..
Yep, as soon as you see a split that stringy, one of the first things you say is "gum." Split a few more and you might be saying "dadgumit!" 😆

 

[Newt243]

The picture with the bark coming off was towards the top of the tree where it was punky and starting to rot. It is without a doubt a sweet gum as I have cut and split quite a few and they have a very distinctive smell when they are wet. There were no gum balls in the canopy which threw me off because they typically still have them even in late winter on my farm. I’m guessing the tree has been dying for awhile and that’s why the top don’t have gum balls and did not smell either when I cut a chunk out to see what it was. I have found if you cut them into rounds and move them into the sun to dry for a few months they will split much easier without being stringy!

 

[PA452]

The first pic immediately had me thinking dogwood. Then the second pic had me unsure. But it doesn't look like ash we have around here.

 

[CincyBurner]

Sweetgum is is monoecious (both male and female flowers on same tree). Sweetgum doesn't develop gumball fruit when until it matures. If you're a homeowner you'll have a few years to enjoy the tree (nice form and great fall color) before it'll start producing gum balls.

 

[Woody Stover]

(nice form and great fall color)

Blackgum leaves turn a brilliant red. I think Sweetgum go red also, but maybe not as dramatically. I woulda (maybe) noticed otherwise..there are several on the drive. 😏

 

[fvhowler]

Yes, that would be sweetgum. Tough split by hand, decent firewood. I burn it when it's a convienent score but I seek other woods first.