Birch or Cherry?

[Cliniford]

Ok I will admit that I am not very good at tree ID. I went out yesterday and cut what I thought was a good load of birch but the FIL says it is wild cerry.
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[deerlakejens]

FIL looks correct to me.

 

[stumpy75]

In the first pic, that wood looks too light to be cherry. Wouldn't cherry be a darker wood?

Any pics of the leaves?

 

[doobie57z]

i say birch. whats it smell like?

 

[Constrictor]

That is birch

 

[HD2010]

Looks like Birch to me.

 

[PA Plumber]

Birch.

 

[Encore]

Sure looks like birch to me. cherry I've always used is much darker than that on the inside.

 

[Cliniford]

In the first pic, that wood looks too light to be cherry. Wouldn't cherry be a darker wood?

Any pics of the leaves?

Sorry no pics of the leaves.

 

[zogger]

smell it

Cut a piece and smell it right then, or grab some of the fresh cut chips. I just bucked up a bunch today, smells great. Bark is different from your picks, further down the bottom of the tree.

Man, I was having a good time splitting today, had a mixed pile of ash, cherry and poplar. Insta split! Doesn't get any more fun that that! GF couldn't keep up stacking and I was loading the wheel barrow with the splits and bringing it to the pile! I was even trying one handed, right and left. Right went pretty good, left...hmm..need a little more wrist strength and practice for that, even with the lighter fiskars. I'll keep whacking away at it though as long as I got a pile of this great wood.

Makes up for all them nasty crotches and other bummer wood I did this summer earlier...some of that is *still* in the bummer pile..let it season another..decade or three...

 

[CTYank]

FIL needs to get a tree identification guide. No way is that black cherry- not remotely.

That white/gray birch is the least desirable of the birches. Now, if it were black birch, you'd have reason to celebrate. Better luck next time.

 

[Misfit138]

Looks like Birch to me too.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Simple question, have you ever seen any cherry furniture that color? :hmm3grin2orange:

Cherry would be more like this:

 

[openloop]

Juvenile cherry bark has that same texture but is much darker. The bark of larger branches however looks nothing like birch and should make it easy to distinguish between the two.

 

[ridecaptain]

I think it would make an awsome CherryBark canoe!!!!!!!!!

 

[lone wolf]

Without a doubt it is Birch:bang:

 

[Cliniford]

FIL needs to get a tree identification guide. No way is that black cherry- not remotely.

That white/gray birch is the least desirable of the birches. Now, if it were black birch, you'd have reason to celebrate. Better luck next time.

Not sure if Black cherry is the same as wild cherry, but I specified wild cherry and below is a pic of one which isn't far from my pic.
Google Images
And I am celebrating if it is in fact birch because that is a very desirable firewood around here that puts out 20 MBtu/cord which is alot better than alot of the other species we have around here.

 

[stumpy75]

The color of the wood is wrong for cherry. As I hinted at before, it's a birch!

 

[LumberjkChamp]

I'll tell you.....I don't even think google has the right ID on the tree in your link. There are several different local variations of wild cherry trees, but I have seen none like the one in the link or that you posted. My money would be on Grey Birch. I'm not saying I'm right. You always have to consider (especially with tree ID) the possibility that you are looking at a species that you have never seen before.

 

[Steve2910]

Google "Kwanzan cherry". Anybody that says your tree couldn't possibly be Cherry might be surprised.