Big hitch of Poplar..

[1270d]

We have quaking aspen, big tooth apsen, and white aspen (3 main types of merch aspen). Big tooth can make some decent sawlogs. Its all called popple. Cottonwood is in the same family, but a different tree altogether. Usually a ditch or lowland tree not typically found in the woods. Yellow (tulip) poplar is in a family of itself of ancient lineage.

Yep I've read about lots of hand cutting, peeling, and hand loading of popple back in the 30s, 40s, & 50s in northern Wisconsin. There wasn't much left after the big cut and it was either move west to log, farm, or cut pulp.

Amish will buy popple bolts around here for about $120/cord. Otherwise the pulp will go for around $100/cord at the mill. $70/cord as firewood.

My grandfathers both peeled "popple" back then. They would fall it, peel it with a spud in stringers and leave it sit in the woods to dry for some time. The time frame for peeling was late spring till around the fourth of July when the bark would tighten up again. Of course it was all loaded by hand. Later years it was loaded with a cable jammer.

I still have the honor of working with one grandfather. He's 78 running a forwarder now and I'm sure will never leave the bush.

 

[Sourdough54]

Almost impossible to identify that as quaking aspen or balsam poplar by the photo. In Alaska the balsam poplar, quaking aspen and black cottonwood will naturally form hybrids in some areas.

My place out in the Mat-Su had the skankiest aspen (Populus tremuloides) I ever saw. There were stands up the Parks and out the Glenn Hwys that were so white that 95% of the people driving by probably assumed they were pure stands of white birch It puzzled me for years until I finally came across an article mentioning the hybridization with Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) and Aspen in south central Alaska. The Black Cottonwood in Alaska is considered by many to be a subspecies of Balsam Popular (P. balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa), Wikipedia claims there’s a specimen near Haines with a DBH of 10’.

I hope no one takes as preachy or a know-it all (as I’m just an amateur dendrologist), but in attempt clear some of the confusion. Eastern cottonwood is (Populus deltoids) and Large Tooth Aspen is (Populus grandidentata (often with an orange hue to the bark and is localized in New England and the Lake States). All of the above mentioned species are of the genus Populus and combined with many less well known species are commonly and collectively referred as “popple”.

It is my understanding that Tulip or Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera, a member of the magnolia family) comprises the vast majority if the “popple” saw timber (I can’t really say as I’ve only seen one in my life).

As far as the original photo, going by the bark if I had to guess I would say Balsam Poplar or maybe young Cottonwood. It could be very mature aspen, but (not being familiar with the area) most of the aspen I’ve seen is riddled with conks and punky by the time the bark looks like that.

Regardless, it is a very nice turn / hitch.

 

[hammerlogging]

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I'll take tulipifera any day

 

[treeslayer2003]

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I'll take tulipifera any day

yes sir, you n me both. make good time and worth good money. easy cutting too.

 

[paccity]

the stink is bad but the crash boom is fun.

 

[OlympicYJ]

i'm confused, cotton wood the same thing as aspen?

Sorry boys if this comes across as too confusing but I've had a long brain sucking day so bear with me.

Aspen and cottonwood are the same thing, kind of. Black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) are in the same family (Salicaceae) and the same genus (Populus) but are different species (SPP). Salicaceae is the willow family. Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoids), Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) are the same family and genus as is Black cottonwood, Quaking aspen and Bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata). So if you hear someone call something a poplar (other than yellow poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, which is in the Magnoliaceae family) then they are talking about some tree in the Salicaceae family and of the Populus genus. So you could call an Aspen a cottonwood, but in a technical sense you will be wrong. This is why scientific names exist, to keep local vernacular from muddying the waters. Dendrology lesson for the month

Nate correct me if I screwed the pooch on this one.

Ah I'm kind of late. Sorry Dough I poached on ya. A good dendro book is Trees of The Northern United States and Canada by: John Laird Farrar.

 

[tramp bushler]

My place out in the Mat-Su had the skankiest aspen (Populus tremuloides) I ever saw. There were stands up the Parks and out the Glenn Hwys that were so white that 95% of the people driving by probably assumed they were pure stands of white birch It puzzled me for years until I finally came across an article mentioning the hybridization with Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) and Aspen in south central Alaska. The Black Cottonwood in Alaska is considered by many to be a subspecies of Balsam Popular (P. balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa), Wikipedia claims there’s a specimen near Haines with a DBH of 10

Regardless, it is a very nice turn / hitch.

It wouldn't suprise me. Probably the biggest trees in Haines. Talk about some short junk. But there is a huge stand of cottonwood along the Chilkat river. Up around Klukwan .

 

[slick700]

Took this dandy out a few weeks back. Front tires kept coming off the ground on me till I got to where it sits in the pic..it's a slight incline. I think I counted 14 trees in that hitch.





And one of me, glamour shot in the mirror..

they are really aspen best known as popple