Wood Id help. Is it white oak?

[Lure hobby farm]

I know my blade is dull. Tree is approximately 18” or bigger in diameter at the base. Picture is one of the branches 3/4 the way up the tree after I dropped it. Most of the tree was missing bark but the top branches. Is this white oak? I’m in central mn. Thanks for helping a newbie!

 

[Lure hobby farm]

 

[Simonkenton]

That has a rather gnarly grain. The white oak I have split has a smoother grain. However, there are several species of white oak.

 

[Lure hobby farm]

Or is this ash?

 

[River]

I vote elm.

 

[Simonkenton]

Whit oak has a strong smell, which I like. Ash has little smell.
It does resemble ash.

 

[Mutineer]

Plus one for elm, due to the bark and the discoloration inside, I had several die years ago that had that discoloration pattern to the rot. Definitely not white oak.

 

[wooddope]

I vote elm as well.

 

[Bobbob]

I'm saying elm as well. Looks real similar to some dead elm I recently cut down.

 

[Kevin Weis]

To me not stringy enough for Elm. My vote is for Post Oak which is in the White Oak family.

 

[CincyBurner]

I thinking Am elm.

VT dendro Am elm factsheet​

If so, bark when cut on bias/ tangent will have distinctive "alternating, buff colored and reddish brown patches. When young it is often quite spongy."

 

[gzecc]

Looks like punky elm

 

[Gearhead660]

Jumping on the Elm bandwagon.

 

[snojetter]

Since I'm a fellow Minnesotan, probably not far from you, I'll chime in: that thar be elm! No doubt about it (right down to the tendency for the bark to pull away just like your photo shows). I burn lots of elm and believe it or not, I split most of it by hand. If it goes through a hydraulic splitter, it'll come out stringy much of the time. Split with a maul, it's usually quite clean. It makes great firewood despite it's reputation.

 

[fbelec]

i say elm also that looks like a standing dead one that i took down in my back yard with the bark coming off. i have another one that i have to take down bark is everywhere

 

[all night moe]

I'm tipping towards Elm as well, although I'm wondering why the grain doesn't seem as stringy as the American Elm tha I'm used to here in the NE. We have Siberian Elm too, but this it definitely is not.

 

[zmender]

Spent a couple weeks splitting white oak this spring and this doesn't look like it.

Fresh stacked white oak will have the heavy vanilla scent to it - think a glass of California chardonnay or the bourbons aged in uncharred barrels. The scent will be strong enough you can catch whiffs it from dozens of yard away.

White oak side face will have rays shooting perpendicular to the grains - giving the cut face an almost spiderweb look with annular rings and rays propagating from center.

 

[zmender]

White oak (maybe some red oak mixed in?) from wood shed … they all have the ray and cobweb look

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I split a lot of oak.. definitely not white oak.. and it looks kinda punky