Again Asking For ID Help

[Whitespider]

Shellbark Hickory?? Likely not... unless Dogsout lives in extreme southeast Iowa.
There are four different types of Hickory that grow in Iowa; the Mockernut and Shellbark are quite rare and found only in the extreme southeast corner. The Bitternut and Shagbark are fairly common throughout most of Iowa except the northwest corner.

I don't know what that wood is, not enough clues for me to make an ID... but unless Dogsout lives southeast of Mount Pleasant the chances of it being Shellbark Hickory are virtually zilch, zip, nada, zero.
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[066blaster]

Here's some pics of some hickory I cut last Nov it was about 28 inches at the base. I cut several 16-20 inches that looked alot like the OP's log. Less shaggy than the older bigger tree's

 

[Dogsout]

Hickory will smell like the pig barn at a county fair when green. Looks like a hickory to me. Was the bark hitting you in the face when cutting it?

I would say that is a very accurate description of the smell. This thing was wedged up in another tree with the root ball still half in the ground. (Would guess it was still getting some water) It got pulled down and rolled around some before it got to the clearing that I cut in. There are numerous other trees in this grove that are what I would call Shagbark Hickory with the long strips of bark that you could peel right off. Wondering if this tree didn't lose most of its shagbark due to its circumstances? No bark was flying off when I was cutting but occasionally I did see a spark now and then. Finally no way is it a Willow tree.
I am pretty sure that it is not a Silver Maple as I have cut my share of this and the smell is not the same and in this pretty fair size grove I have not seen one Maple tree.

 

[blacklocst]

Lone wolf nailed it with the spots on the ends. I too have cut hickory with that spotted pattern and I mostly have Shagbark.

 

[unclemoustache]

I also lean toward some kind of hickory. Bark does indeed look a LOT like maple, but the spots and color look more like the hickory I've seen. Shagbark hickory is much shaggier, though.

 

[Stihl310]

I also lean toward some kind of hickory. Bark does indeed look a LOT like maple, but the spots and color look more like the hickory I've seen. Shagbark hickory is much shaggier, though.

I would agree that the lower portions of shagbark are shaggier, but the further up you go the less prevalent the "shagginess" becomes. Depending upon where in the tree these pieces came from it could easily pass as shagbark hickory. Our farm is full of these trees and even across our farm I've seen varying degrees of "shaggy" bark, all I would assume from the same family of trees originally.

I would say our farm is over 60% hickory and I agree with you, I'd bet the farm that the wood pictured is hickory. I've cut a pile of the stuff.

 

[zogger]

I would agree that the lower portions of shagbark are shaggier, but the further up you go the less prevalent the "shagginess" becomes. Depending upon where in the tree these pieces came from it could easily pass as shagbark hickory. Our farm is full of these trees and even across our farm I've seen varying degrees of "shaggy" bark, all I would assume from the same family of trees originally.

I would say our farm is over 60% hickory and I agree with you, I'd bet the farm that the wood pictured is hickory. I've cut a pile of the stuff.

Yep, farther up ya go, the smoother it gets.

 

[flotek]

Going to say it has a lot of characteristics of white oak . I've cut ironwood that looked like that but it was smaller. In diameter

 

[mr.finn]

Based on the bark, I would have to say Pignut hickory.

 

[Whitespider]

Based on the bark, I would have to say Pignut hickory.

Not in Iowa...
The original "native" range of Pignut Hickory does include a tiny, thin strip of Iowa, along the Mississippi, in the Burlington/Fort Madison/Keokuk area... but it is even more rare, and covers a smaller area than the Mockernut or Shellbark do. The ISU Forestry Extension no longer lists the Pignut as a tree living in Iowa... it is possible there may still be a couple living along the river, but there ain't any current evidence. And I suppose there is the possibility that someone has planted one in their yard... but Dogsout's original post states this tree came from a farmer's timber stand. The odds of it being Pignut Hickory are... well... a trillion-to-one, maybe more.
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[farmer steve]

It's hickory. the holes in the cut end are from the hickory borer. we call that smooth bark hickory as we also have shagbarks too. great burning but takes a long time to dry. stack it with a top cover only.

 

[Ronaldo]

No doubt about it....it is definetely Hickory. Not all of our Hickories have really shaggy bark, some more than others. Hickory is very heavy when green and the stuff we cut here does not have a great odor when green. Light color on the ends and the borer marks on the ends are further evidence. Looks just like the Hickories we have growing and that we cut on our forested hills. A shot of the leaf would be helpful, too. You will like burning it.