Wood ID- Ironwood?

[WiscWoody]

I get this wood sometimes and it’s always small in diameter and it’s quite dense and heavy for how small it is. I think the pieces with the rough bark it Hop Hornbeam or Ironwood and the smooth barked pieces are American hop Hornbeam also known as Ironwood. The smooth barked stuff usually has ripples in it like muscles. I usually dry it for at least two to three years along with my red oak. What do you all think?

 

[hickoryhoarder]

The names get tricky here, so I'll go with Latin guesses. The first two photos look very much like Carpinus Caroliniana, in the family Betulaceae. My favorite common name for this is musclewood -- so descriptive. It's also called blue beech, ironwood, and American Hornbeam, depending where you live. I coined the name Muscle Beech (though it's in the birch family, not beech family).

The other photos may be Ostrya virginiana, also family Betulaceae. Known as hop-hornbeam or ironwood, depending whom you talk with.

I see Carpinus Caroliniana a lot in the woods, but no experience with it as firewood. Hope I'm never asked to saw it by hand. I see Ostrya virginiana only as an occasional yard tree, or walk by it in the woods without recognizing it. No experience with the firewood. I imagine they both contain a lot of heat, but may also kindle at a high temperature (would not make good kindling).

I think it'll keep you warm.

 

[ReggieT]

Hmm...kinda reminds me of this "mystery wood" that burnt hot & long last winter.
Nobody gave a 100% positive ID!
Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[Simonkenton]

Reggie that is locust. Did you cut that near Birmingham?

 

[CincyBurner]

first 2 pics: +1 for hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana (blue beech, muscle wood).

rest of pics: make sure you can rule out ash. Best characteristic here is to determine if it's opposite (could be ash) or alternate branching habit. For ash look for pin hole pith. Green ash bark on young trees can have that flaky appearance. Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) leaves are doubly serrate margin, ash if serrated leaves will only be single serrated.
https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=62
My recollection of Ostrya is that its flaky bark will have occasional bark strips that lift off of trunk. See pic on link https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=62

 

[peakbagger]

It looks similar to Eastern Hophornbeam I find in my woods in NH but the ring spacing is far wider than my trees. The hophornbeams in NH tend to be understory trees as the grow very slowly so any competitors end up shading them out. If the soils are just right (usually ledgy soil they will occasionally be the only trees that grow but even then they do not get that large and the ring count is still tight. As mentioned the bark will look a bit fuzzy with small pieces flaking off. It is a very good long burning wood but very hard to cut due to its density. It also can be difficult to hand split but if you have a gas splitter should not be an issue.

 

[ReggieT]

Reggie that is locust. Did you cut that near Birmingham?

Not any black locust I've ever cut or burnt. It catches on way faster than locust and didn't have the locust interior color. Maybe honey locust?
Cut it up near my Dads house in Athens, AL.
Here's 2 pics of the wood split and another angle and 2 pics of some old blk locust I found in a ditch!

 

[WiscWoody]

Reggies wood looks like American Hornbeam aka ironwood aka musclewood, especially the piece with smooth greyish bark with some lichens fungus on it.

 

[Sean in the woods]

I have a lot of Hop-Hornbeam in my forest. It is an understory tree and aside from its scaly bark, it has seed pods that look just like hops. The wild turkeys like them.

Interesting thing about the hop-hornbeam. In the spring, just after it is fully leafed out, the bark can be peeled of all the way to the sapwood with bare hands once started. I had an idea to make walking sticks out of the peeled staves because the surface of the sapwood is very interesting once exposed like this.

 

[tadmaz]

I've always called Hop Hornbeam "Ironwood" and American Hornbeam "Musclewood", and that's for sure what you've got.