Another wood ID + some interesting "pear"

[sw18x]

Can anyone ID this wood? I picked it up from a pile at the tree service, it was a fairly new cut I but didn't get a chance to ask him what it was. It feels very heavy /dense, despite the wide spaced rings, and has a VERY strong acidic smell, similar to what I smell from fresh honey locust but much stronger.

The last picture is some "pear" from the same company. I was picking through the pile when one of the driver's came over and asked if I wanted a few chunks. He told me what type of pear it was but I forgot what he said; I do remember him saying it's one of the best woods to burn, and based on the weight (easily as dense as locust), I believe him. I admit I'm relatively new to the firewood game, but I just love the color of this wood, I've never seen anying like it.

 

[Zale]

From the large growth rings, I would say tulip poplar. Just a guess.

 

[zogger]

Sorta big

Pretty large chunks for any pear tree I ever saw. I'm medium colorblind so looking at end grain color..meh, hard to tell. I'd agree the bark furrows and textures look like tulip poplar somewhat. The bark doesn't look like any pear to me, even the ornamentals, but I am no ways an expert either, other guys here are much better..

Tulip poplar is real heavy when you first cut it, like willow say, but dries out and splits real light. It burns similar to real dry pine, without as much sap. It's OK for when you want a small heat fire, or for quick fast fire to get some heavier stuff burning. It won't be anything like the denser hardwoods though, not even close. If you wait until the rounds show some cracks, it pops apart wicked easy, but while still wet, you could very well just get bounce from an axe or maul. Like rubber. But it only takes a few weeks to show real good cracks. Once split it dries amazingly quick.

I burn a lot of it, just mix it into the pile with the harder stuff. There's a few chunks going in the heater right now as I type this, the aulde laydee built a small fire this morning to take the chill and damp off.

 

[CWME]

Looks like that first big piece has already split itself into three chunks for you. Self splitting wood is a bonus

 

[r&r]

Doesnt look like poplar the inner wood would be dark and the outer would be much lighter and the bark doesn't match up.
A close up of the end grain would be helpful.

 

[zogger]

cutting poplar

Doesnt look like poplar the inner wood would be dark and the outer would be much lighter and the bark doesn't match up.
A close up of the end grain would be helpful.

I've noticed when I cut green tulip poplar, right at the live bark/dead bark transition area it leaves a little fringe of wood fiber strings. Very distinctive. They are small, but there. Standing dead, nope, you won't get the strings.

Tulip poplar and ash have those tight packed, very regular shallow bark furrows, another distinction. They look..neat and tidy.

 

[stumpy75]

The last picture is some "pear" from the same company. I was picking through the pile when one of the driver's came over and asked if I wanted a few chunks. He told me what type of pear it was but I forgot what he said; I do remember him saying it's one of the best woods to burn, and based on the weight (easily as dense as locust), I believe him. I admit I'm relatively new to the firewood game, but I just love the color of this wood, I've never seen anything like it.

Could that be Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana)? Also known as Bradford Pear? It's planted widely as an ornimental... Not sure how they burn, but they tend to be a weak tree, and break up fairly easily in a snow or wind.

 

[sw18x]

Thanks for the replies. If it is tulip poplar, then it would make sense why it's so heavy now. A few weeks ago I found a large, straight trunk piece at the bottom of a pile at the tree surgeon's...it had no bark, looked well seasoned, and was heavy as lead. I bucked it up into lengths for the splitter, but I had a heck of a time getting it to split. What looked like a straight grain, actually had a gentle weave to it (kind of like a flat 'S'), and it gave me all kinds of trouble. The wood was also stinky, kind of smelled like that nasty craft paste kids use in primary school, you remember the stuff the little kiddies use on holiday decorations then some stupid kid would always try to eat it? Anyways, the rest of the pieces I just chunked up with the saw, it was so heavy and seemed dry enough I thought I'd end up with some nice burning wood. Then a friend of a friend stopped by and said it was poplar. Some of the smaller pieces have dried enough I can already feel the difference in weight, much lighter than when first cut / split.

As for the cracks in the picture CWME, unfortunately it's NOT self splitting, that was a failed attempt on the splitter. I buried the head and got the wood to crack, but it was just too wet to finish the job so I pulled it back off with the tractor and set it in next year's pile to dry.

As for the pear...I read that Bradford pear isn't a great burning wood. I'm optimistic this is another species, it really is some dense stuff, hoping it burns as well as I've heard other fruit trees do like apple and cherry. The orange coloring of the wood really stands out, I thought for sure that would be a clear tip to someone who knows more about this stuff than I do. Guess we'll have to wait until next year to see how it burns.

Here's some pics of that pasty"poplar" that gave me trouble on the splitter. View attachment 201822View attachment 201823View attachment 201824

 

[lone wolf]

Could that be Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana)? Also known as Bradford Pear? It's planted widely as an ornimental... Not sure how they burn, but they tend to be a weak tree, and break up fairly easily in a snow or wind.

That is what I think too.Wait that is the last pic you asked about the first looks like Gum or ash try to split it see how it splits gum wont split!

 

[brisawyer]

Split that big roud open and post a pic. Im thinking oak from the end grain. Your second set of pics looks that big round looks more like elm. I dont look like Tulip poplar to me. Ever notice how many ways poplar gets spelled popular popler papler

 

[John R]

I'd guess that vertical wood in your pictures to be pine.

 

[stumpy75]

Im thinking oak from the end grain. Your second set of pics looks that big round looks more like elm.

Although it is a ring porous wood in the second set of pics, I see no rays in the end grain(which is a dead giveaway for oak), so I would be leaning to either an ash or maybe tulip poplar.

Edit: On rethinking this, tulip poplar's pores are very small and hard to see. Ash's pores are much larger. So scratch tulip poplar...

 

[r&r]

End grain looks somewhat hickory like but the growth rings are so big it makes me doubt it.
Possibly sweetgum but I would have expected the split piece to be more stringy.

 

[sw18x]

The "split" piece was actually cut with a chainsaw...the pieces I tried to split did come out stringy, I'll include pics later.

 

[Toddppm]

The big ones not sure, maybe some kind of Cottonwood, although the bark is pretty thin.

The last one is definitely Bradford Pear. It burns fine, especially since it's free.

 

[lone wolf]

The "split" piece was actually cut with a chainsaw...the pieces I tried to split did come out stringy, I'll include pics later.

Thinking Gum because stringy.

 

[unclemoustache]

I really doubt it's bradford pear. I've never seen any one get even close to that size, and the bark seems wrong. I was thinking it might be some kind of pine as well, but the bark doesn't seem quite right for that either. Very wide grain, though, so whatever it is, it's a fast grower, which would indicate bradford or poplar.

 

[stumpy75]

Thanks for the replies. If it is tulip poplar, then it would make sense why it's so heavy now. A few weeks ago I found a large, straight trunk piece at the bottom of a pile at the tree surgeon's...it had no bark, looked well seasoned, and was heavy as lead. I bucked it up into lengths for the splitter, but I had a heck of a time getting it to split. What looked like a straight grain, actually had a gentle weave to it (kind of like a flat 'S'), and it gave me all kinds of trouble. The wood was also stinky, kind of smelled like that nasty craft paste kids use in primary school, you remember the stuff the little kiddies use on holiday decorations then some stupid kid would always try to eat it? Anyways, the rest of the pieces I just chunked up with the saw, it was so heavy and seemed dry enough I thought I'd end up with some nice burning wood. Then a friend of a friend stopped by and said it was poplar. Some of the smaller pieces have dried enough I can already feel the difference in weight, much lighter than when first cut / split.

As for the cracks in the picture CWME, unfortunately it's NOT self splitting, that was a failed attempt on the splitter. I buried the head and got the wood to crack, but it was just too wet to finish the job so I pulled it back off with the tractor and set it in next year's pile to dry.

As for the pear...I read that Bradford pear isn't a great burning wood. I'm optimistic this is another species, it really is some dense stuff, hoping it burns as well as I've heard other fruit trees do like apple and cherry. The orange coloring of the wood really stands out, I thought for sure that would be a clear tip to someone who knows more about this stuff than I do. Guess we'll have to wait until next year to see how it burns.

Here's some pics of that pasty"poplar" that gave me trouble on the splitter. View attachment 201822View attachment 201823View attachment 201824

Ok, after re-reading what you said about the smell and the stringy stuff, I'm now thinking the big rounds in your second set of pics are cottonwood. The look of the round is right too.

On your first set of pics, I took them and blew them up, and I'm also now thinking cottonwood. I don't have much experience with gum, so I'm going with what I'm sure of...

The last pic of your first group, you mentioned that you thought it was some type of "Pear". That's why I suggested Bradford. How big in diameter are those logs? There's no solid reference in the pic... I know of some Bradfords that are about a foot in diameter right down the street from me. They are pretty badly broken from an ice storm we had last year, and the stems are not as long as what seems to be shown in the pic though. In other words, I'm not sure!:msp_rolleyes:

 

[sw18x]

My fault for muddying the waters, because now we're talking about three kinds of wood here, although it sounds like you got it straightened out Stumpy75.

Remember, the wood in the first round of pics has a very strong citrus/acidic smell. I was hoping that would be a dead giveaway... honey locust, for example, even a newbie like me could ID a fresh split blindfolded based on the scent. I haven't been exposed to a real wide range of woods yet, so maybe odors like that are more common than I thought, but this wood had a smell coming off it that seemed pretty unique. Does cottonwood smell like that? Along the same lines, how many species of trees / wood have a distinctive smell that experienced guys can make an ID on?

As for the "Pear", no way it's pine, at least based on what I know about pine - way heavier than any pine I've ever picked up. The rounds are about 12" in diameter.

I agree - all free wood burns good. I've got over 30 cords and haven't paid a penny yet, and this will be my first year of burning. Keeping my fingers crossed that my current 'connections' will keep me well stocked next season too. Right now I'm working my way through a wood pile at the tree service, coming up with wood that's probably a couple years old or more. Needless to say it's well seasoned (at least the pieces that have been kept off the ground and aren't rotted). They let me use their Bobcat to load my pickup, then the neighbor gives me a hand unloading with his backhoe when I bite off more than I can chew. Had a piece yesterday that must have weighed 500lbs, about half the size of the truck bed. Have to say there's an addictive quality to all of this, and learning about all the different varieties of wood is no small part. Thanks for all your help.

 

[stumpy75]

Cottonwood can have a really nasty smell(at least to me). Not sure I would consider it a citrus/acid smell, but we all smell things a little different...

And, yes, there are other species that have a particular smell (Actually, a lot of them). Of course, sassafras comes to mind first, then many of the fruitwoods(cherry, apple, etc), and since I have been cutting a lot of ash, I've come to realize that it seems to have a distinctive smell too.

Sounds like you have a nice spot to pick some wood. I'm still scrounging anything I can find, but am getting mostly ash. I now have about 10 cords on hand, which is a 2 year supply for me.