What is this?

[jetsam]

I've been hauling in a big pine (I think) tree that looks like it's been down for a few years. As I get closer to the top of the tree, I am finding more and more branches with bright orange or cherry red coloration- just in the branchwood.

It ranges from flourescent orange to fire engine red, and maybe one branch in 10 has it. What the heck is that?

 

[weatherguy]

Could be box elder, tough to tell without getting a good look at the bark.

 

[jetsam]

I was more asking what the red stuff was, but there's the trunk of the thing. It's been down too long for there to be any leftover leaves/needles.

 

[weatherguy]

The red stuff is probably a fungus, that's what it is in box elder, woodworkers can make some nice pieces with it.

 

[Applesister]

Does it smell like turpentine? Or cat pee? Its gotta still smell.
Pines dont usually have big Ys in them. But Boxelder has more sapwood.
Dunno
The red staining is supposed to be an IDing characteristic of Boxelder.

 

[Jon_E]

That's absolutely white pine. The red color is often found in knots and branch wood. I see it all the time and I burn a lot of pine.

 

[Wood Duck]

Big White Pines can have large branches and multiple trunks, making them look a little like a hardwood.

 

[Stinkpickle]

Save some for a local woodworker. That's some nice color.