Hey All! Hope everybody is doing well this holiday season. I got a call from a friend saying a windstorm blew down a huge tree. She doesn’t recall the species but said it had been dead for a couple years so no old leaves to look at. My best guess is chestnut oak? I figured I’d asked the experts here! Plan on bucking it up tomorrow.
I don’t think it’s black cherry I have some of that in my wood shed. The bark is different then the cherry I have.
The young trees have smooth bark, similar to black birch. The older they get, the more scaly they become. The wood itself is what leads me to believe it’s black cherry, deep red heart wood surrounded by a thin layer of yellowish sapwood. If indeed this is a black cherry it would easily be one of the largest I’ve seen. Give it a sniff test too. If it’s sweet smelling there you have it.
Does it smell sweet (cherry) or like vinegar (red oak)? That will answer it for you. Im leaning red oak from the pics though.
In one pic there one small piece that looks a little like Cherry but the limbs look like Red/Scarlett Oak to me.
unfortunately I believe it has been dead for a couple years so I didn’t see any twigs that had buds on them.
Will do the sniff test today. I’ll let you know. Would it still have the distinct smell after being dead for so long?
Maybe, maybe not. I cut up a dead one a couple months ago that was getting punky inside and it still had a sweet smell, although very very faint.
I vote against cherry, the bark has too many vertical bark furrows on one pic and also the wood isn't red enough for what I am used to. If it is, it's big. I saw the biggest cherry I have ever seen yesterday in Arkansas and it was around that size.
I’ll throw my opinion in: The bark doesn’t look like Cherry bark to me the wood color looks similar but I would lean towards some type of Oak. The sniff test will help with ID as well.
Cherries get pretty big where I am. I've cut dozens down through the years that were over 24" across. Here's one that was on my property that was about 29" at the stump. His i.d. is a tough one. Some of the bark pics do look like Cherry, other pics of the branch wood looks like Oak. I'm in the agreement with the Oak crowd on this one. Compare his branch pics to my branches in the background of my first pic. The potato chip bark should be on the branches and the trunk. His are not.
This one really had me puzzled until i finally hit me. Sort of looks like cherry bark and heartwood, sort of looks like oak bark and heartwood. CATALPA??? Based on Note: cedar log on far right. Weight and wood texture very similar to sassafras. Catalpa right, sassafras left. The wood has a peculiar, but pleasant aroma IMO 1985ew
Thanks guys for all the input! Based on the smell test it’s sour as if it is oak. I was able to hand split a few pieces I’ve attached a couple pictures. I got 2 truck loads bucked today slowly working my day down to the main trunk.
