Black Locust is King!!

Thanks concrete! When you are done bucking and splitting that, stack it in my back yard so I can have a very close look at it!!

You in "Garmin" country? OR near Springfield at all? I used to have an office in Springfield, but we closed it a few years ago. Fun little town....

 

I've NEVER seen osage grow anywhere near so straight in my area. That tree's a dream.

A bunch of very valuable bow staves could've been split from that one. There's a bunch on ebay for $30+ for straight 2"x2"x5ft staves.

 

"Deciduous coal"

 

BL is almost surreal when its dry and burning and roaring and heating...

 

The hedge apple is a pretty easy way to id it. If you see one of these you have found an osage orange. It is how I learned there were a few growing around here.

 

There's a quad trunk I am trying to work up the courage for. Each trunk is 30" x 60'. Heavy is an understatement.

 

Down in the bayou, known as Bodark. Coolest name for it, sounds mysterious and foreboding, befitting a wood of such power. These pics don't do it justice; When freshly split, it glows a neon yellow. Here, we call it Hedge-apple...you can almost picture the children dancing around it in springtime.

 

I've also heard it called Horse Apple and Osage Orange. I had never heard of hedge before the forums.

 

Now that looks like my brain after visiting Colorado!!

 

That looks a lot like BL!

 

That's what I'm saying; Those pics don't capture the intense yellow color...much brighter than BL when you see it firsthand. But yeah, the sawed end has a similar look, except for color.

 

A few years ago, a lady looked at the sawdust stuck to my pants (from hours earlier) and said, "You've been cutting bois d'arc". I told her that I was impressed that she could ID the tree from the sawdust. Even though its pretty easy to ID bright yellow sawdust around here.