Was scouting an area for wood today and this tree was blocking a gravel access road where i will cut some fallen locust. I think its TOH? Not a wood ill normally scrounge but too easy to pass up. Not much but free. I only recall cutting some once many years ago in my moms woods.
Bark is an exact match but the leaves are different than the ones I have. Mine have that unmistakable sumac look to them.
Bark looks right. The leaflets are a little funny but I think that is because the tips have been eaten off them. Here is a picture of a leaf
The leaves look mostly correct. They are smooth except for a dull tooth (notch) or two near the base. To confirm you can crush a leaf or twig and if it smells like rancid peanut butter, it’s TOH. You’ll know it when you smell it.
Ill take your word for it. I like PB but not when its rancid. The tree has been down for about three weeks so maybe a little wilted. Welcome to the FHC Chad88 Great to have you!
Its in the way for me to get to this locust about 100 yards backs. Since i havent cut any in over 30 years i will to satisfy my curiosity. Not that big of a tree either.
FWIW the Chinese use it a lot for cooking fires. Burns fairly smokeless from the little I’ve torched up. I envision the Chinese cooking in pots tho. I wonder if there’s any mild toxicity to it. Memory says it read that but I never trust my memory much I’ll have to look that up.
Oh hell if it’s in the way of a locust just cut it and toss it to the side. Hahahahaha FWIW there is no Tree of Heaven mania
I had a giant in my back yard that came down during a winter storm.Ants ate out the bottom and the storm did the rest.It smashed my back fence.Come spring I cut it up and discarded the rotted base.The wood was ready to burn the next winter.It burned well.I was surprised how it heated.This tree grows like a weed.It grows fast and made me think that if I had some land I'd plant these trees and in five years or so have trees big enough to use as firewood in log form.The trees grow nice and straight like the one pictured and wouldn't need splitting.
That's a beauty of a Locust, Brad. Off the ground is always good too. For that, I'd cut up the tree of heaven, the tree of hell, and every tree in the garden of Eden I see those darn TOH's everywhere along the roads, highways, even huge stands of them here at Pratt in Middletown. Just another invasive species from Asia that shouldn't have been brought to our shores. I haven't burned TOH yet but I do have a stack of similar wood (Mimosa tree) that I'll be trying in the stove this upcoming spring.
Discovered it right after the tornado. Same gravel road i cut some last month. Might as well take the TOH as well. Just wanna satisfy my hoarding curiosity.
Brad can’t go far without being involved in a Locust quest. It could be tax time and he’s sitting there at H&R Block. He’s getting antsy and gazing out the window. Suddenly he sees a blow over and off he goes like a shot! The tax preparer is dumbfounded but keeps working diligently. Just as Brad’s adjusted gross income is being tallied, he’s loading the last of the locust into the bed of the infamous white Ford pickup. Coming back inside sweating, the tax man decides its best to not ask questions. Brad signs his John Hancock triumphantly, signaling another successful heist. Another one for the books.
If we’re not careful he could eradicate the species. Generations down the road will only be able to see one on the history tablets, with Brads picture next to the article.
I've been heating with wood for almost 40 years and for the last several years I only heat with Beech because it's so clean and season's so fast. But when I first started I did what a lot of you guys are doing-Had a stack for just Oak because it took so long to season that I didn't even like getting it. Had another stack for Ash/Beech Cherry because it seasoned so fast but I also Had a stack I called My SOW Stack. Stands for Some Other Wood because back then there was no internet to look up or ask other guys what kind of wood is this one or that one. If I ever got a Tree of heaven I had no idea what it was and just threw it on the SOW stack. There was another thread on here about a coffee tree. I doubt that's even up here where I am but if it is and I got it it would have gone into my Sow stack.
