So my father-in-law cut some scrub trees from a job site and gave me about 2 cords. But I can’t figure out what kind of wood it is. What I do know: 1) it is fast growing, very loose grained; 2) it is very wet, particularly under the bark; 3) there is a slimy “paper like” layer between the bark and wood; 4) the wood is very smooth under the bark; and 5) it’s very stringy to split. I know this isn’t super helpful but it’s about all I’ve got. There seemed to be about 3 different types of bark on the cord, but the above description Seems to apply to all three. I know it’s junk wood but I’d like to know just how junky. Any help would be appreciated.
Firewood Identification Help
- Thread starter Chubski
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Basswood?
cumminstinkerer
addicted to making my boiler run clean
a form of what we call cottonwood, they vary from location to location, it is a relative of sycamore
Quaking Aspen
Edit: very "junky".
Edit: very "junky".
cumminstinkerer
addicted to making my boiler run clean
get it split and dry, it will burn fine, just takes more of it than oak lol, pretty light when dry, but free is free and wood is wood, I've burned lots of it, burns fast but in a good boiler with good flue heat recovery who cares, a pound of that is as good as a pond of oak!
Old-Feller
Pretty Fart Smeller
It's not Quaking Aspen, I cut that all of the time here, I like it because there are not a lot of limbs till you get towards the top on the bigger trees, We don't have much hardwood around here. Mostly Aspen, Blue Spruce and Pines.
That wood he has is stringy like Cottonwood, But it doesn't look like the kind we have here, They normally have little pointed spires under the bark.
I'm thinking slippery elm. The bark on one of the pieces looks like what I have cut before. It's a common fencerow tree in my part of Ohio.
Slippery elm has a slimy inner bark, but neither the wood nor bark look anything like the trees in the picture. Its some species of Populus (aspen or cottonwood).
Sycamore and cottonwood are in separate families, Platanaceae and Salicaceae, and are not closely related, despite any similarities in qualities of their woods..
Sycamore and cottonwood are in separate families, Platanaceae and Salicaceae, and are not closely related, despite any similarities in qualities of their woods..
poplar, aspen, cottonwood
all the same
all the same
One pic looks like Ailanthus from the bark. Another looks like Elm. You have a mix. Some ok, some not so good but all will burn.
looks like it yes.
Also say it looks like two or maybe three types of wood. Cut, split and dry it all and burn it. Most of my Aspen and Poplar gets bagged for campfire wood and sold to campers or campsite owners here in Ontario. I keep the Elm and other dense hardwoods for my woodstove.
Here's some Red Elm that's dried up nicely.
Great wood and heavy like concrete when dry.
Here's some Red Elm that's dried up nicely.
Great wood and heavy like concrete when dry.
That looks like quaking aspen (usually called poplar in Michigan) or cottonwood. If that is limb wood, it's probably cottonwood, & it has a sour smell when first cut. If those rounds are from the trunk, then it will be poplar. Both are similar. Poplar burns quickly & hot. It is rated pretty low for the BTUs produced. I haven't burned cottonwood, so I can't comment from experience, but I would expect it to be very similar to poplar. Cottonwood trees are usually double the diameter of poplars around here.
Got picture of a leave or a twig with a bud or two?
Ya definitely some kind of aspen or poplar. My best guess would be balsam poplar. To me all those different bark pieces could have come off one tree. They tend to have a greenish/grey bark higher up in the canopy and a solid grey more furrow bark at the base. Probably ones of the better junk woods but they do smell terrible when freshly cut. Hope this helps. Ive got tons of them on my property so i can post a pic if anyone is interested.
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