Western Washington Tree ID please, cottonwood or maple

[Highbeam]

Craigslist score maybe. I pulled out one load last night. He says maple, and there are maple leaves all over but this looks like cottonwood maybe. It is a small lot and trees were all cut towards the center into a layered mess. It is hot right now and the trees were recently cut. The trunks are cleaned so no attached limbs or leaves. The small wood has been taken so I'm in to the really big stuff. Bark is pretty thin, under 1/2" and the trunks are quite straight and large at the base. Say 36"+. The smell was somewhat cottonwoody cat pee like but maple isn't exactly an evergreen, it wasn't a strong smell.

 

[Highbeam]

I used google earth and looked at the street view from before the logging and see what I think is one huge limby maple, and then several very tall cottonwoods. The branch structure is like cotton on the big ones. There are some non-maple leaves in there but many layers of limbs. It is a pretty messy deal.

So guys, I'm not going back to cut and hump that cottonwood through 30-50 feet of slash pile to get to my pickup. I really like burning maple so it was worth asking.

 

[iron]

yeah, i felt bad about a month ago when a neighbor only a few blocks away had about 3 cords of cottonwood for free on CL and he couldn't find any takers for a long time. i certainly wasn't going to get it...

 

[TheAardvark]

If it smells like cat pee it isnt maple.

 

[billb3]

You used to like cottonwood.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/burning-cottonwood-yes-no.14081/

 

[begreen]

The bark on the two felled trees looks like big leaf maple. A look at the leaves on the tree would be a certain id.

 

[Highbeam]

The bark on the two felled trees looks like big leaf maple. A look at the leaves on the tree would be a certain id.

I looked very closely for any attached limbs with no luck. These were dropped by a climber so he limbed as he went up. Pretty easy to tell the difference between a maple leaf and a cottonwood leaf. The bark was a little more silver than the typical maple but had some moss and wasn't too slippery when I knocked some off.

There was a smell of cottonwood but perhaps from a lone cottonwood in the pile. I tried sniffing the rounds and it was only slightly treelike and not strong peelike. I don't recall what maple smells like when green but I know it isn't like pancakes!

You used to like cottonwood.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/burning-cottonwood-yes-no.14081/

I wanted this wood to be maple, the logs were big and heavy so it would be mine to take since not many folks have a saw or back or truck that can handle it. I don't mind burning cottonwood either if it's easy to get. It has low btu, has stinkier smoke, but burns fine. If you have the option of low btu wood or a higher btu wood I think most here would pick the higher btu for the same amount of work.

 

[Highbeam]

You used to like cottonwood.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/burning-cottonwood-yes-no.14081/

As I said in that thread......"After burning the last 1.5 cords of the cottonwood I would gladly take it for free. I would prefer doug fir of course."

 

[iamlucky13]

I see cottonwood leaves all over the place in the second picture.

It looks pretty straight-grained where it split, which also suggests cottonwood.

I've also noticed cottonwood likes to leave very fine splinters in my fingertips when I handle chainsaw-cut edges bare-handed.

 

[Jags]

"Thin" bark does not describe the cottonwoods around these parts, but I do understand that there could be a variance due to geographic location.

 

[Highbeam]

"Thin" bark does not describe the cottonwoods around these parts, but I do understand that there could be a variance due to geographic location.

The bark near the bottom was much thicker and course, up to an inch thick. As you go up the bark gets thinner on every tree that I've ever worked on. I did not go back as I believe it was cottonwood and getting it out was tough.

Got a good connection with a tree service now so I've been hauling like mad. Good stuff too.