Wood ID

[Simonkenton]

North Carolina mountains. No leaves. Not a pine. The wood has a strong, funky smell, almost smells rotten.
Help me boys, I got 800 pounds if this in my pickup, and my brother has a thousand pounds in his woodpile.

 

[gzecc]

I'd take a wild guess at red oak of some sort. Mostly because of the coloring and looks like it splits easily. My experience in in the north east.

 

[Jags]

red oak.

 

[Simonkenton]

It may well be red oak. I hope so. Too bad I couldn't get a leaf.

 

[Eman85]

Is it orange just under the bark if you peel it a little? You say it smells funky or rotten which doesn't sound right. Red oak smells great to me a real strong winey smell, nothing like working red oak. Bark looks pretty coarse also, hard to tell from picture.
No matter what if it fits in your stove it's good.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Not sure about Oak but could be. Maybe Black Ash. The grain doesn’t quite look like oak to me.

 

[TheAardvark]

I don't see "rays" on the end grain which means it is not oak. Maybe it's sassafras....not sure.

 

[Caw]

Highly doubt it's oak. The bark doesn't look right. Red oak specifically has a very strong, distinct vinegar like smell that lingers for years. It also has a very tight grain.

This is red oak from my pile:

 

[DonTee]

Some kind of hickory? I have some pignut hickory on my property that looks similar. Smells kind of earthy or tobacco-y

 

[Simonkenton]

I wacked this tree six months ago and it was dying at the time. It had no leaves. Now the wood is still sound, no rot, and full of sap.
Since the tree was diseased, it could be, perhaps, a red oak with diseased/discolored wood.

I don't know but the wood is very heavy. I am going to split it up today with my electric splitter, and I am going to bring 2 pieces into the house and set them behind the wood stove to dry, and in a few weeks I will see how it burns.

 

[Simonkenton]

I split much of it today. It is a dense, heavy hardwood. I know it is going to be good firewood. Smells like vinegar. It is rather stringy, some pieces hard to split due to stringy-ness. Could this be the North Carolina Hellefino Tree?

 

[shoot-straight]

It's hickory.

 

[Simonkenton]

"Is it orange just under the bark if you peel it a little?"

This tree laid on the ground for six months. The edge between the bark and the wood is quite rotten, just looks like nasty brown mulch, or doo-doo. However, no rot on the wood itself Gott sei Dank.

 

[Eman85]

It's hickory.

I just split a pile of hickory, my hickory is white and has different bark.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It’s not oak, it doesn’t look like any of the hickories I’ve seen. Does not look like any of the green or white ash that we have here.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If I had to guess, I’d guess sweet gum. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve seen a mature tree though.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Doubt it's Sweet Gum. Sweet Gum is a costal plain tree. Marshall, NC is up in far western NC.

 

[Eman85]

@Simonkenton You live in a great area of true old time mountain men, you need to ask locals they'll know. You're just north of the arboretum at UNC Asheville, they'll have info.

 

[Queequeg From Rokovoko]

Red Oak, maybe a Swamp or Bur Oak with Oak Wilt desease. Take a while for that to dry out.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I can’t ID this wood. My first impression is that it’s a softwood. I’m not in your geographic area so my impression is not worth much.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Do you know if it’s from a yard or forest?

 

[Woody Stover]

Can you get a better end grain pic?
Doesn't look like the Oaks I'm familiar with. Or Hickory or Sweetgum, which are lighter-colored. Sassafras doesn't smell "rotten."
If we have to, we can call in @nrford. 😏 But this wood might not be in MI...

 

[VintageGal]

Looks like a softwood cedar to me

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like a softwood cedar to me

But apparently doesn't smell like it..."strong, funky smell, almost smells rotten."

 

[SpaceBus]

I'm guessing some kind of willow or poplar species. It's usually really heavy when first split, but will get much lighter over time.