Wood id please

[Jeffk119]

First time poster..long time lurker..my buddy picked some of this from a wood dump site and we are trying to decide what it is..ultimately it will be firewood but kinda curious as to what kind of tree. We are in Northern Illinois if that helps. Hope I did the pictures right.

 

[turn_n_burn]

Cottonwood. I have a big chunk i use as a chopping block, and yours is a dead ringer. It has spongy, thick bark with the reddish cast underneath the outer layer (people love mature cottonwood bark for carving).The grain is mostly off-white and kind has a flat ribbon-ish character. If it's unseasoned, it will have a sour odor, kinda like willow, or more accurately, piss in a campfire. If it's kind of fussy to split and holds water like a sponge, you can bet on it for sure. We have tons of huge cottonwood trees here in southern Idaho, and people burn it because of its ubiquitous availability. It will put out a lot of heat (when dry) fora short time and leave lots of ash. Personally, I think this would explain why it was at a dump site to begin with. However, I am also a wood scrounger and will burn it if I find it, and as someone else on this site said, real cottonwood is better than imaginary oak. Burn it, bro! Especially if you are mad at your neighbors

Welcome aboard!

 

[Jeffk119]

That's what I was thinking by the split but the bark looks different than the Cottonwood I've seen..thanks for the reply and it will definitely get burnt..thanks for the reply.

 

[turn_n_burn]

The pics were perfect, by the way. Everything someone would need to ID it. The bark thins up high on the tree and looks way different, that chunk seems to be close to the base of the tree. Hope it didn't seem like I was trash talkin' your cottonwood. I have an ass load of tulip poplar in my pile, and that's never made me any friends......if it burns, burn it.

 

[Jeffk119]

No offense taken..I'm a scrounger so if it splits it burns..thanks again