What is it ?

What are your thoughts ? It was about 80’ + tall & about 2’ dbh, the dozer man got a bit over zealous “cleaning things up “. It has/had a very nice straight trunk.

There are still several dead leaves on it, the wood looks a bit like Ash but the bark doesn’t.

It definitely isn’t silver maple, as I can id that & there are several of those around there.





There were only two of this type of tree in the ditch, the dozer man left the smaller one.

Along with this one he took out about 10 nice cherry trees & buried them in a brush pile. I think I can still get 2 nice mulberries out, they look to be about 16” trunks.

Anyhow, I digress, I don’t recognize the tree in the photos.

 

Opposite branching compound leaf and hollow center pith makes me think ash, as does the appearance of the wood grain. But the leaf edges are serrated. Bark is off for white and green ash though. I wonder if that’s European ash, Fraxinus Excelsior?

 

Let’s see some twig pictures when you get a chance Jim. Especially the ends/buds.

 

It’s too nice of a tree to leave in the brush pile but it maybe a big pia to get it out. I will just have to see how much time I have going forward.

 

The silver maples are budding out but I don’t recall seeing any buds on it. I will try to look this after noon.

 

Bark reminds me of pecan.

 

We had some mockernut hickory that looked like pecan bark

 

Maybe blue ash? Calling Ralphie Boy as he's the resident specialist.

EDIT: did a little research and the bark matches blue ash


leaves do too with the little serrations

 

Ya did gooder, Brad. I think you it just right

 

It’s definitely an ash

 

Bark almost looks like horse chestnut, but leaf cluster looks ash like

 

Blue ash. The EAB don't much like them.

 

This is the other one that is still standing with some twig picks or at least the best pics I could get in a 35mph “breeze”.. This bark looks more like Ashy to me but I am confident that they are the same type of tree.

 

Here are the 2 Mulberry trees.

 

Your ash dont look like ash to me. Least not any ash i have ever seen growing in iowa. At any rate I dont envy you picking apart a pile like that for wood. Tangled up mess with loads of dirt gound into the bark from the dozer. BTDT. Take along plenty of era chains.

 

Ash limbs/twigs should be opposite, not alternate....

 

Dead ringer for hickory buds.

 

After seeing those two "lonely" trees with nary another in sight, i'd feel reeeeeeeally guilty cutting them down.

Second pick looks like ash and it looks like it could be hickory as well.

 

The buds are alternate rather than opposite arrangement so that rules out ash. I’m leaning towards hickory/pecan now.

 

I thought about pecan, I don’t ever remember seeing any nuts on the ground but I guess I never really looked that close. There used to be a pecan tree about 3/4 mile to the east on a different farm.


I never saw it but dad said an old dozer man told him it was there & wouldn’t doze it out, then that farm sold & a different operator dozed it out for the new owner.