Name this tree

[clawmute]

Is this tree Ash?

I have several young trees on part of our land that are a little bit of a puzzle to me. I believe them to be young White Ash trees but the thing that throws me is the leaf size. I know they are not Dogwood or Maple, Horsechestnut, Paulownia or Box Elder.



Other Ash trees on our place have much smaller leaves than these.

These trees have;

1. Furrowed bark on the lower half running to smoother towards the upper portions.

2. Opposite limbs, twigs and leaves

3. Short leaf stems, apparently smooth twigs & leaf stems

All of this points me toward White Ash with leaf size being odd to me.

What do you fellows think? It's a head scratcher for me.

The whole tree

Twigs are opposite

Limbs are opposite

Irregularly toothed leaf edges

Opposite leaves with short leaf stems. These leaves are quite a bit larger than other Ash trees here.

That's all I know.

Thanks for your replies, Frank/aka Clawmute

 

[Blazin]

Basswood.

 

[Bushman_269]

Some old timers call them Popple here. Not much btu value in the wood.

 

[buzz sawyer]

I don't believe it's basswood. Basswood has simple leaves. Your leaves are clearly compound.

I'm leaning towards pumpkin ash or some kind of hickory. Can we get a better photo of the trunk?

 

[wigglesworth]

Name this tree

I shall call him Sir Fredrick. (Fred for short)

 

[smokinj]

ash

 

[J.W Younger]

I have several young trees on part of our land that are a little bit of a puzzle to me. I believe them to be young White Ash trees but the thing that throws me is the leaf size. I know they are not Dogwood or Maple, Horsechestnut, Paulownia or Box Elder.



Other Ash trees on our place have much smaller leaves than these.

These trees have;

1. Furrowed bark on the lower half running to smoother towards the upper portions.

2. Opposite limbs, twigs and leaves

3. Short leaf stems, apparently smooth twigs & leaf stems

All of this points me toward White Ash with leaf size being odd to me.

What do you fellows think? It's a head scratcher for me.

The whole tree

Twigs are opposite

Limbs are opposite

Irregularly toothed leaf edges

Opposite leaves with short leaf stems. These leaves are quite a bit larger than other Ash trees here.

That's all I know.

Thanks for your replies, Frank/aka Clawmute

Looks like you got ya some kinda ash there neighbor.
how ya liking all this rain?

 

[camoman]

Poplar.. I think it's white poplar... that's the majority of wood I burn. Not as much BTU's as tamarak but good wood for early and late winter.
The downside.. it leaves a LOT of ash behind!

 

[clawmute]

These didn't post before.

 

[clawmute]

Looks like you got ya some kinda ash there neighbor.
how ya liking all this rain?

Sick of it......my river bottom green field has been under the river twice.

 

[camoman]

These didn't post before.

Balsam Poplar (Black poplar)

Populus balsamifera L.

FORM:
Medium sized deciduous tree with long
cylindrical trunk and a narrow, open crown
of stout limbs.

BARK:
Smooth, becoming furrowed into thick ridges,
whitish to greyish-brown.

TWIGS:
Alternate, moderately stout, round, shiny, smooth,
bright reddish-brown. Lenticels few, mostly
inconspicuous. Terminal bud sharp, pointed, up to 25
millimetres (½ - 1 inch) long, shiny, very gummy with
a fragrant odour, chestnut-brown; lateral buds smaller,
pressed against twig. Leaf scars moon-shaped, small,
with three bundle scars.

LEAVES:
Alternate, simple, oval, tapering to tip, rounded at base
(or heart-shaped at base in var. subcordata Hylander),
fi ne-toothed, 7 - 10 millimetres (3 - 6 inches) long,
with a yellowish metallic lustre on undersurface.

FLOWERS:
Before leaves, in drooping dense catkins.

FRUIT:
With leaves, smooth, capsule about 6 - 7
millimetres (¼ inch) long in catkins.

Here is a Field Guide of Manitoba Trees (know your not from Manitoba) but it has the black poplar in it.

http://www.manitoba.ca/conservation/forestry/pdf/fieldguidefinal.pdf

My best guess anyway.. hope it helps.

 

[CrappieKeith]

My guess was basswood.

 

[clawmute]

I don't believe it's basswood. Basswood has simple leaves. Your leaves are clearly compound.

I'm leaning towards pumpkin ash or some kind of hickory. Can we get a better photo of the trunk?

Pumpkin Ash is out and it's no Hickory either. Everything points to some kind of Ash, just don't know what kind.

 

[Jon E]

I would say it's a white ash, I've got some that have leaves 4-5" long, easy. See if you agree? http://www.oplin.org/tree/index.html
Seems to be a pretty good site.

 

[clawmute]

I would say it's a white ash, I've got some that have leaves 4-5" long, easy. See if you agree? http://www.oplin.org/tree/index.html
Seems to be a pretty good site.

Yes that is a very good site and one of the ones I like to use.

That's what I was thinking and I agree, but leaves on other White Ash I have are very different.

I guess the bottom line is how much do leaves of a specific tree species vary, and I don't know how to answer that.

The opposite leaves and especially the branches are dead on for Ash. These trees are on high ground (hills above a river bottom)

The leaves in the picture below are from another Ash (located in the river bottom) and these leaves are more narrow/not as broad as the ones in question.

This site is the best one for showing distribution maps of tree species;
http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/

 

[Geez]

Balsam Poplar (Black poplar)

Populus balsamifera L.

FORM:
Medium sized deciduous tree with long
cylindrical trunk and a narrow, open crown
of stout limbs.

BARK:
Smooth, becoming furrowed into thick ridges,
whitish to greyish-brown.

TWIGS:
Alternate, moderately stout, round, shiny, smooth,
bright reddish-brown. Lenticels few, mostly
inconspicuous. Terminal bud sharp, pointed, up to 25
millimetres (½ - 1 inch) long, shiny, very gummy with
a fragrant odour, chestnut-brown; lateral buds smaller,
pressed against twig. Leaf scars moon-shaped, small,
with three bundle scars.

LEAVES:
Alternate, simple, oval, tapering to tip, rounded at base
(or heart-shaped at base in var. subcordata Hylander),
fi ne-toothed, 7 - 10 millimetres (3 - 6 inches) long,
with a yellowish metallic lustre on undersurface.

FLOWERS:
Before leaves, in drooping dense catkins.

FRUIT:
With leaves, smooth, capsule about 6 - 7
millimetres (¼ inch) long in catkins.

Here is a Field Guide of Manitoba Trees (know your not from Manitoba) but it has the black poplar in it.

http://www.manitoba.ca/conservation/forestry/pdf/fieldguidefinal.pdf

My best guess anyway.. hope it helps.

Definitely not poplar. Poplar leaves are alternate, not opposite as in the pics. My guess is an ash, probably white. Also many trees have larger than normal leaves when they are young.

 

[oxbow]

I vote for black ash

These didn't post before.

Clawmute:

I'm not sure if black ash grows in your area, but that's what it looks like to me. I usually see it growing in wetter areas, but have seen it on higher ground with other ashes. It doesn't typically get as big as other ashes.

I have a hard time telling the difference between white and green ash, but I can tell black ash by the bark and the heartwood. If you cut a black ash, the heartwood is very dark brown (almost black, that's why it's called black ash). Other ash trees don't have dark heartwood. Also, the bark is "corky" and rubs off easily with your hand. (Not so with other ashes).

 

[HuskyMike]

Ash, I have a bunch of them here too.

 

[bayard]

little leaf linden

basswood is little leaf linden, is that correct.kenny

 

[clawmute]

Clawmute:

I'm not sure if black ash grows in your area, but that's what it looks like to me. I usually see it growing in wetter areas, but have seen it on higher ground with other ashes. It doesn't typically get as big as other ashes.

I have a hard time telling the difference between white and green ash, but I can tell black ash by the bark and the heartwood. If you cut a black ash, the heartwood is very dark brown (almost black, that's why it's called black ash). Other ash trees don't have dark heartwood. Also, the bark is "corky" and rubs off easily with your hand. (Not so with other ashes).

According to this range/distribution map of the Black Ash it does not (I'm in west/central Arkansas) but it could be a hybrid. After years of looking at trees and identifying them I still have to scratch my head over some that don't fit all the criteria for a species.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/Fraxinus/nigra.htm