Why we have scientific names

[ks_osage_orange]

I really like to browse and comment on the wood ID threads, but there is a huge regional gap in how we name trees. Just a few of the common examples that I see often are:

Sugar Maple and Hard Maple..In fact you guys in the Northeast have so many different names for maple, most of the time I'm not sure which one you're talking about.

In Kansas we have 11 different native species of oaks, I'll bet each of them have at least two common names.

I recently posted in another thread on Osage Orange, it is also called Hedge, Hedge Apple, and Bodark.

I'm curious on how many different names we can come up with for common hardwood firewood species.

Oak
Maple
Elm

 

[rmihalek]

I've heard red oak be referred to as piss oak.

Around here (MA) lots of people use the term Rock Maple. It looks just like Sugar Maple to me.

Is pignut hickory a local term? I'v heard it used occasionally, but I thought it was just a local term for a red hickory or a mockernut hickory.

 

[Hedgerow]

This should be good!!! I'll be oiling my brain...opcorn:

 

[Hedgerow]

I've heard red oak be referred to as piss oak.

Around here (MA) lots of people use the term Rock Maple. It looks just like Sugar Maple to me.

Is pignut hickory a local term? I'v heard it used occasionally, but I thought it was just a local term for a red hickory or a mockernut hickory.

There are over 50 types of maple trees. From a wood cutting standpoint you could classify them in 2 types and draw the line where you want. Hard / Soft...
Rock maple and sugar maple around here are the same thing. Both hard, burn great and have a high BTU rating. Red and silver maple would be considered soft. They, however, are not the same tree. Red's are a bit slower growing than Silvers. As far as far as Hickory? It's not on Osage's list, so I won't touch that one...:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Guido Salvage]

I burn a lot of oak, white oak, red oak, pin oak and chestnut oak are the most common in my pile.

 

[r&r]

When you say different names, do you mean different names for the same species of oak, elm, or maple?

Like a turkey oak that some people call a gobbler oak.

Because the familys of oak, maple, and elm have lots of different species.

 

[myzamboni]

This should be good!!! I'll be oiling my brain...opcorn:

So your username could also be bodarkrow. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[ks_osage_orange]

When you say different names, do you mean different names for the same species of oak, elm, or maple?

Like a turkey oak that some people call a gobbler oak.

Because the familys of oak, maple, and elm have lots of different species.

Yes different names for the same species. Although now you have me curious about turkey oak or gobbler oak. Neither one is a common name of oak that I am aware of. So what is the common name for turkey oak?

Just pick a common species and list the names you know of for it. No need to list all the Japanese maples for Maple. This might be more difficult than I thought. What you call a turkey oak there might be the same as what I call a chestnut oak here and we wouln't know we are talking about the same tree.

 

[ks_osage_orange]

Here I'll give it a try lets take acer saccharum, sugar maple, hard maple, rock maple. That's all I know of, and I learned the hard, and rock name from posters on AS.

 

[climberjones]

So your username could also be bodarkrow. :hmm3grin2orange:

Or horse apple row ! and osage orange row !!!! some body stop me !

 

[TMFARM 2009]

Or horse apple row ! and osage orange row !!!! some body stop me !

horse apple...lol, thats a good one.. road apple....lol
what about a coffee tree???? i see some here in fence rows at times.... furniture mill down the road will buy all he can get... it looks allot like a walnut to me but has variations in colors...i have heard some of these in various names... buckeye trees??? pin oak??? locust????thornapple????piss elm???? but a beech nut tree is a beech nut tree all day long....go figure!:crazy1::crazy1:
i call them all firewood trees.....

 

[CTYank]

And ... this "bodark" thing is a corruption of the french "bois d'arc" or "bow wood" as in archery. But don't tell Cheney and Rummy. :msp_flapper: (Too "old Europe.)

If you want to see lots of the common aliases for common US forest trees, a good resource is the AFA's book "Knowing Your Trees."

 

[r&r]

Yes different names for the same species. Although now you have me curious about turkey oak or gobbler oak. Neither one is a common name of oak that I am aware of. So what is the common name for turkey oak?

Just pick a common species and list the names you know of for it. No need to list all the Japanese maples for Maple. This might be more difficult than I thought. What you call a turkey oak there might be the same as what I call a chestnut oak here and we wouln't know we are talking about the same tree.

Turkey Oak Quercus laevis Quercus laevis Walt

How about sweetgum and gum ball tree.

 

[Hedgerow]

So your username could also be bodarkrow. :hmm3grin2orange:

Yes, it could! But even in France, a hedge row is a hedge row... (Bow Dark) as it's pronounced is only used by rich folks that like products made out of it. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Locust Cutter]

That and as anybody who's ever worked Hedge can attest, if you hit a Hedge knot on a lathe,.... %#@^&%()*&%*&^%$@#^%#$*(&^)(&*(_&_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ouch.
Well let's see: Chinese (Piss) Elm, Silver Maple (propeller maple) Black (Blackjack) Oak, Hedge/Hedge Ball/Hedge Apple/yellow wood/Osage Orange, Not sure on the specific Genus/Species but Russian or Honey Locust (yellow core w/a bark covered in VERY Friendly spikes)/Bearded Locust,..... My head hurts now.

 

[brewmonster]

Someone asked about pignut and mockernut hickory. Two different trees, Carya glabra and C. tomentosa.
I'm glad this came up here because common names just cause no end of confusion. For some reason, there is no standardization of common names of plants. Birds, for instance, are different: Eastern bluebird and indigo bunting are both blue birds, but no birder will ever confuse them or call them by the wrong name.
When someone says "cedar," I can think of plants belonging to numerous different genera he might be referring to. Could be Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Juniper, Cedrus, Libocedrus, Cedrela, etc.
Firewood and lumber sellers are a lot like fishmongers in this. When you buy fish, the seller can slap any name on it he thinks will enhance its marketability. And when someone is selling "mixed hardwood," you can be pretty sure he has no idea what's in there.
People who spend a lot of time in the woods and handling its products should take the time to study up. It's not that hard.

 

[brewmonster]

Locust Cutter implied that Black Oak and Blackjack Oak are the same. Not so: Quercus velutina vs. Q. marilandica. They look very different.

I've also noticed a lot of people writing about Chinese Elm when I'm almost certain they are referring to Siberian Elm (Ulmus parvifolia vs. U. pumila). These, too, are dissimilar. Not sure how this widespread confusion arose.

 

[mizzou]

Black oak-quercus velutina, Blackjack oak-quercus marilandica. Two different trees.

 

[Hedgerow]

Someone asked about pignut and mockernut hickory. Two different trees, Carya glabra and C. tomentosa.
I'm glad this came up here because common names just cause no end of confusion. For some reason, there is no standardization of common names of plants. Birds, for instance, are different: Eastern bluebird and indigo bunting are both blue birds, but no birder will ever confuse them or call them by the wrong name.
When someone says "cedar," I can think of plants belonging to numerous different genera he might be referring to. Could be Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Juniper, Cedrus, Libocedrus, Cedrela, etc.
Firewood and lumber sellers are a lot like fishmongers in this. When you buy fish, the seller can slap any name on it he thinks will enhance its marketability. And when someone is selling "mixed hardwood," you can be pretty sure he has no idea what's in there.
People who spend a lot of time in the woods and handling its products should take the time to study up. It's not that hard.

True... But then we would sound like a bunch of egg headed college professors...:msp_biggrin: I enjoy learning the "common" names from different parts of the country...:msp_wink:

 

[PLAYINWOOD]

Here I'll give it a try lets take acer saccharum, sugar maple, hard maple, rock maple. That's all I know of, and I learned the hard, and rock name from posters on AS.

You forgot Black Maple. Its also a hard maple and interbreeds with Sugar maples. Apparently the only way to tell the hybred is how "pointy" the tips of the leaves are.
Kick butt firewood, flooring or furniture material. Hard to work with and really hard on tooling but the finished product will last for generations.

To see them turn colors in the fall is stunning, and the sap in the spring is delicious.

Gods most useful tree???