ID this wood
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Toddppm
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yeaup
tomtrees58
Addicted to ArboristSite
the first one is white oak #2 is sweet gum come guys this is one is easey
opcorn:
opcorn:
the first one is white oak #2 is sweet gum come guys this is one is easey
The Oak should be very easy to ID for you guys.
bsearcey
ArboristSite Operative
I was having trouble with #1. Bark is a little too peeling and the heartwood is too uniform. Oaks typically have a darker heartwood compared to the sapwood.
#2 is definitely a gum. Sweet or black. I've not had the pleasure to split SG, but BG is impossible to split with a fiskars, so probably SG.
#2 is definitely a gum. Sweet or black. I've not had the pleasure to split SG, but BG is impossible to split with a fiskars, so probably SG.
Oak no doubt about it look at the grain color etc.
I came across two pieces of wood today that I kept and cut up, but can't quite peg them with my field guide.
The first one is definitely a hardwood, and seems like an oak to me. Maybe white oak, but the bark is throwing me off -- it seems flakier than I remember. It's got large flakes that overlap going around the tree:
This is Swamp White Oak(Quercus bicolor). I have been fooled before on this, and at first look thought what I was looking at was a shagbark hickory, but a closer look shows differences. Not all Swamp White Oaks have quite the bark as shown, but once you see one, it's not hard to ID. USDA maps show it as native to Virginia too...
If I can get over to the local park this afternoon, I'll get a better picture of one.
stihl in ky
ArboristSite Member
I agree, it definitely looks like a white oak to me also. At first I thought hickory but after really looking at the grain I do believe it's white oak.
on #2 - you say it smells like melon? have you ruled out sassafras? you really need to post the smell so we can all experience it.
banshee67
Poulan Wild Thang
banshee67
Poulan Wild Thang
Here's a few pics of Swamp White Oak in my area. The first pic is a shot of the base of the tree, showing how the bark will change with age. Pic #2 is looking up, and shows a lot of the bark variations. Swamp White Oak may have any of the bark shown.
So, pic #1 from the OP is a Swamp White Oak IMHO. The wood looks right also. As to OP pic #2, I don't have much gum in my area, so I'll leave that to those who do.
In the OP Pic #1, does the wood have obvious rays from the center to the edges in the end grain? Hard to see in the pic..
It ain't an easy one to ID, but it IS good firewood!
So, pic #1 from the OP is a Swamp White Oak IMHO. The wood looks right also. As to OP pic #2, I don't have much gum in my area, so I'll leave that to those who do.
In the OP Pic #1, does the wood have obvious rays from the center to the edges in the end grain? Hard to see in the pic..
It ain't an easy one to ID, but it IS good firewood!
Last edited:
banshee67
Poulan Wild Thang
Here's a few pics of Swamp White Oak in my area. The first pic is a shot of the base of the tree, showing how the bark will change with age. Pic #2 is looking up, and shows a lot of the bark variations. Swamp White Oak may have any of the bark shown.
So, pic #1 from the OP is a Swamp White Oak IMHO. The wood looks right also. As to OP pic #2, I don't have much gum in my area, so I'll leave that to those who do.
In the OP Pic #1, does the wood have obvious rays from the center to the edges in the end grain? Hard to see in the pic..
It ain't an easy one to ID, but it IS good firewood!
like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words
Toddppm
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yeah you're right. I didn't look at the tight grain this morning and where that piece of bark is pealed up. With as big as those plates of bark are and how thin it is I instantly thought of Red Maple but obviously not.
PA Plumber
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'll see your Swamp White Oak and raise you one Black Locust:
Your pic looks more like our Honey Locust than Black Locust.
Chris-PA
Where the Wild Things Are
In truth it doesn't look like either of them, and most people have no idea what it is. It has no spines like honey locust. The smaller ones that shoot up from its roots look nothing like it, even fairly large ones don't have that bark.
Its base is 2' from my house BTW, and it's got lots of babies. There was another, larger one on the front of the house about 10" from the eves of an addition. It was huge, hemmed in by the power entrance, the power lines out front and on a steep, inaccessible bank. It had one large branch that went out over the power lines and the road, and one that went back over the house. I had it taken down because I was rebuilding that addition - they brought in a crane and pieced it out. It heated my house for a winter, and I split most all of it by hand - the color looks right to me too, but it has been a couple of years since I had any.
If it's sprouting from the roots, then it's probably black locust, which is famous for that.
Although I have seen a lot of black locust, and agree that your pic could be what we are looking at, I still think it's swamp white oak, or at least something in the white oak group. :msp_unsure:
If the OP could confirm that there are obvious rays on the end grain, that would probably settle it between oak or something else.
Although I have seen a lot of black locust, and agree that your pic could be what we are looking at, I still think it's swamp white oak, or at least something in the white oak group. :msp_unsure:
If the OP could confirm that there are obvious rays on the end grain, that would probably settle it between oak or something else.
close up
Here's a closeup of the end grain of #1.
Unfortunately this is not a fresh cut. I can grab another photo of that if it would help. I do recall much more dramatic variation in color between heartwood and sapwood on a fresh cut.
I happened to see a big black locust today, and it does have similar bark, but locust grain doesn't seem like a match to my eye. So I think swamp oak is becoming more likely after seeing the pics posted here.
Here's a closeup of the end grain of #1.
Unfortunately this is not a fresh cut. I can grab another photo of that if it would help. I do recall much more dramatic variation in color between heartwood and sapwood on a fresh cut.
I happened to see a big black locust today, and it does have similar bark, but locust grain doesn't seem like a match to my eye. So I think swamp oak is becoming more likely after seeing the pics posted here.
hardy steve
ArboristSite Operative
Let it dry and burn it!
