Birch or Cherry?

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Yes, but this looks to be a horticultural variety. The OP spent the day getting some of what he got. I'm going to assume(I know, I know..:msp_tongue:) that this was in a woods, not a residential setting.

Granted, the google search doesn't do it justice.. Most of the pics there (I believe) are cultivated varieties/ grafts. Regional/ common names for any given species may vary. That said, there is a Cherry that grows here w/ the same bark, same coloring, & same grain as in the OPs post. .
 
Any Birch that I've seen has flakey bark peeling off all over. Some of the cherry I get around here has the same look as the OP pic. Not all cherry has dark red core wood. Some species of apple also look similar to the pic.

Either way, burn it and forget it.
 
Either way, burn it and forget it.

I agree with that... it don't matter much because most birch and (native) cherry's carry about the same BTU per cord, 20-million. That doesn't look like Black cherry we have 'round here, Chokecherry is much smaller, more like a bush than a tree. I don't believe Black Cherry is natural once you get very far west of the Missouri River. On the other hand, your pictures resemble birch, but I believe the only birch natural to Washington is the Paper Birch... which normally has bright white bark.

I'm thinking the FIL is correct, it is cherry not birch. Most people in the U.S. wouldn't be familiar with the breed of cherry I believe it is because it's more common in Canada. But it is found in some of the more northern states, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, the extreme northeast, and, yes, Washington. We have some here in N.E. Iowa (I was looking at some last night)... It's called Pin Cherry (sometimes Live Cherry), here's some pics...

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I agree with that... it don't matter much because most birch and (native) cherry's carry about the same BTU per cord, 20-million. That doesn't look like Black cherry we have 'round here, Chokecherry is much smaller, more like a bush than a tree. I don't believe Black Cherry is natural once you get very far west of the Missouri River. On the other hand, your pictures resemble birch, but I believe the only birch natural to Washington is the Paper Birch... which normally has bright white bark.

I'm thinking the FIL is correct, it is cherry not birch. Most people in the U.S. wouldn't be familiar with the breed of cherry I believe it is because it's more common in Canada. But it is found in some of the more northern states, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, the extreme northeast, and, yes, Washington. We have some here in N.E. Iowa (I was looking at some last night)... It's called Pin Cherry (sometimes Live Cherry), here's some pics...

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I have chokecherry in my back yard that is 50 ft tall. That is some bush! Makes good pie.
 
I agree with that... it don't matter much because most birch and (native) cherry's carry about the same BTU per cord, 20-million. That doesn't look like Black cherry we have 'round here, Chokecherry is much smaller, more like a bush than a tree. I don't believe Black Cherry is natural once you get very far west of the Missouri River. On the other hand, your pictures resemble birch, but I believe the only birch natural to Washington is the Paper Birch... which normally has bright white bark.

I'm thinking the FIL is correct, it is cherry not birch. Most people in the U.S. wouldn't be familiar with the breed of cherry I believe it is because it's more common in Canada. But it is found in some of the more northern states, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, the extreme northeast, and, yes, Washington. We have some here in N.E. Iowa (I was looking at some last night)... It's called Pin Cherry (sometimes Live Cherry), here's some pics...

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that interior shot doesent look anything like the original poster's birch
 
thats the upper part of a cherry tree.

the lower/base of a cherry tree tends to have bark similar to pine, and as you go up it smooths itself out.

thats cherry all day long
 
Yes, but this looks to be a horticultural variety. The OP spent the day getting some of what he got. I'm going to assume(I know, I know..:msp_tongue:) that this was in a woods, not a residential setting.

Hope for your sake the daughter is brighter than the FIL :msp_wink:
It's not cherry. There are similarities with the pin cherry pics but that is all just similarities. No doubt it is not cherry. Birch? I don't know because we don't have birch around here.
 
the pretty grain/colors/heart of the cherry tree that many of you guys are talking about is located near the base of the cherry tree. where the "pine bark" of the cherry tree is.

that looks more like a branch of a cherry tree.

while a birch is smooth, its no where near as smooth as the branch in your picture. although bircch is smooth compared to oak or maple, birch does have a kindof rough texture compared to the upper part of a cherry tree.

ill put my life on it that its cherry
 
Wild black cherry has smooth dark reddish-brown bark with raised horizontal lines, often confused with black birch. (Scratch and sniff the inner bark of a twig; birch smells like wintergreen, cherry like bitter almond.) Older cherries have bark broken up into large, uniform flakes.


Most likely its birch ....not to offend anyone.
 
Y'all need to quit thinking along the lines of Black Cherry...
There ain't no Black Cherry that far west or north (the guy lives in Washington)...
Black Cherry barely makes into Nebraska, and not into the Dakota's at all...
In fact, the Black Cherry would be rare in Minnesota west of the Twin Cities.
And you ain't gonna' find any Grey Birch west of the Mississippi River either... just Paper and River Birch, both having bright white bark. Extreme north Washington State has some Paper Birch... but the bark ain't right for that 'cause it ain't white.

Sure as I'm typing, that there is Pin Cherry... we have lots of it around here... IT'S PIN CHERRY!
 

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