Wood ID / Confirmation

[TedyOH]

I'm usually pretty good at ID'ing but this carpenter ant trunk infested dead tree had sucker branches coming off the trunk, pretty sure its oak, i dont cut much big oak in the woods because they never fall over, massive red oaks, this one blew over in the high winds on Wednesday or Thursday.

Thanks.

 

[paul bunion]

Hickory, either pig or mockernut. I can't keep them straight. Bark looks kind of like ash but it feels really really hard.

 

[Applesister]

I cant really tell, what can you tell us about the wood?
Heavy? Light?
Stinky?
Flakey bark? Hard bark?
Sitting in water?
Half rotten? Or solid?
Punky?
The heartwood looks like its beginning to rot. No sign of bugs.?

 

[TedyOH]

Hickory, either pig or mockernut. I can't keep them straight. Bark looks kind of like ash but it feels really really hard.

I have a LOT of bitternut hickories back here and they always blow over from ant infestation, but the bitternut bark is very smooth, compared to shagbark, I am not familiar with pignut or mockernut so I suppose it could be - thanks.

 

[TedyOH]

I cant really tell, what can you tell us about the wood?
Heavy? Light?
Stinky?
Flakey bark? Hard bark?
Sitting in water?
Half rotten? Or solid?
Punky?
The heartwood looks like its beginning to rot. No sign of bugs.?

For it's size and being dead I'd say on the medium to heavy side.
No stink so that kinda ruled out elm for me
Hard bark
Fell in a lower area, I wouldn't say standing water but moist area for sure
Solid from above the ant nest to the top
Not punky at all.
No rot - first picture shows ant nest at base of trunk.
I cut about 6 more rounds after the pic with the saw, had to half the rounds to handle them, split somewhat easy with an 8lber, straight grain, not stringy.

Thanks.

 

[Applesister]

The wood looks like Ash but the bark doesnt, most people know what Ash looks like (baseball bats or row boat oars). The wood is ring porous and the way it fractured across the grain looks like Ash. No smell means it may not be hickory, hickory smells like Casein glue. Medium heavy points to medium BTU wood.
I have to look up Cucumber Magnolia, I have a feeling its something off the charts, like you said.
Well, its not maple, poplar, oak or Chestnut or apple or hickory. I dont think its any Elm. Pretty sure of that.
Actually, the bark looks soft to me, and if I could only smell it....
The thing is about Ohio, it has the broadest selection of tree species, and best specimens of each of our native trees. At least the Ohio River valley. I'll have to look around.

 

[TedyOH]

Definitely not ash, the wood is too yellow / golden, only white on the outside growth rings. I should have taken a picture of the large branch I split, has the dark (tannish) heartwood, white exterior growth wood - I will put a pic up tomorrow. As far as the bark, what's "soft bark" - I would say soft is easily removed like shagbark? The other odd thing I forgot to mention is the top 3rd of the tree had a lot of green moss and or green fungus growing on it, but yet the wood underneath was still solid, no sign of rot at all.

 

[TreePointer]

Any trees with same bark in that area? If so look to see if any leaves are still on branches or on ground under canopy. Overall shape of tree, shape of branches, position of branches, and twigs showing buds & leaf scars can help, too.

 

[TedyOH]

Any trees with same bark in that area? If so look to see if any leaves are still on branches or on ground under canopy. Overall shape of tree, shape of branches, position of branches, and twigs showing buds & leaf scars can help, too.

I checked for others, seemed pretty unique for the stand, most leaves have dropped, all but the beech and oak. I mentioned the few sucker branches on the tree, had a picture but it was too large, I will try to repost. I found a sucker branch odd on a dead tree.

 

[TedyOH]

Crappy pic but here it is.....

 

[TreePointer]

Crappy pic but here it is.....View attachment 165750

Wow, on those shots, that leaf scar clearly is smiling like a white ash, there is opposite scarring as seen in ash, but the bark on the downed tree behind it looks more like a maple or possibly some type of hickory.

The tree standing behind and to the right of your chainsaw looks like ash bark, but then other bark pics don't look anything like it.

 

[TedyOH]

Wow, on those shots, that leaf scar clearly is smiling like a white ash, there is opposite scarring as seen in ash, but the bark on the downed tree behind it looks more like a maple or possibly some type of hickory.

The tree standing behind and to the right of your chainsaw looks like ash bark, but then other bark pics don't look anything like it.

Those buds are from the tree in the back round, same tree I'm cutting, the tree behind the chainsaw I believe is either elm or bitternut, no leaves on it so hard to tell. I now wonder if could it be tulip? There are some back there. Seems to hard and heavy though. The floor has a lot of species, maple, elm, hickory, oak, ash and tulip.

 

[Rebelduckman]

Hickory 100%

 

[Wood Duck]

I think it is White Ash. I have been cutting White Ash lately and I don't see anything in your tree that makes me think it isn't ash. The White Ash here have a brownish wood like your tree, not white wood.

 

[Applesister]

The leaf stem or twigs look suspiciously like White Ash. Ash here has darker heartwood. But the bark still throws me. The wood grain itself looks Ash, the color might be off because of the ant colony.

 

[TedyOH]

Well I think Ash is the winner, 2 reasons for me, I went to split some rounds this afternoon and the dark color in the heart wood in the pictures was all but gone, (evaporation?) it now looks like ash I've dealt with in the past, everything but the light colored bark, also when splitting some bark came off and there were definitely some type of borer at work.

Thanks to All,

 

[Rebelduckman]

How did it split?

 

[TedyOH]

How did it split?

Good, I split by hand and only set aside 1 half round for the splitter out of the 6 full rounds and bunch of large branches I split today - I'll be back at it tomorrow and snap a few pics, forgot my phone today. I was with you for a while Rebel with the hickory, the fresh cut rounds sure looked like it!

 

[Rebelduckman]

Good, I split by hand and only set aside 1 half round for the splitter out of the 6 full rounds and bunch of large branches I split today - I'll be back at it tomorrow and snap a few pics, forgot my phone today. I was with you for a while Rebel with the hickory, the fresh cut rounds sure looked like it!

Yea must be ash then. I have trouble with these two sometimes unless it's live trees

 

[TedyOH]

Signs of the EAB in the first pic?

 

[English BoB]

My favorite...............ASH