While working my recent black birch/beech score i noticed this rather scraggly looking small tree near where i was cutting. From a distance the leaves looked like birch, but upon closer inspection the thin scaly bark revealed it to be hop hornbeam aka ironwood. Seldom mentioned on FHC and ranked near the top of the BTU charts. I asked the lady if she has more trees removed if I could have it. Not worth saving for a typical tree service and would've been chipped. She takes a look and says I could cut it down. Hollow at stump and broken off top. Yesterday the deed was done. Hollow about halfway up the trunk and if another species I wouldn't have bothered. Yielded a couple dozen rounds from 3-7". Biggest I've ever seen. The few I've encountered are small undergrowth saplings which is the way it normally grows. More of a bucket list movelty scrounge for me. How about it FHC? What's your experience with hop hornbeam?
Never really seen one bigger than 3" in diameter and all have been alive so no experience. I would think it would be good stuff like dogwood which I have burnt.
Fond memories of harvesting standing dead dogwood with my dad years back. The wooded lot next door was owned by his brother and there were many wild dogwood growing tall and skinny. Never that big 4-5" at best. They would die and we would cut them down for firewood. Basically buck and burn. Kicked out some serious heat in his basement fireplace.
It's some good wood. We have gotten it a few times. It's kin to the beech family, holds It's leaves very late like beech does.
Yeah it grows here and doesn’t get much bigger than your forearm. Many a cheap steel stove has warped by loading it
I'd burn more if I had it but we don't have much. Here it is called ironwood. MI even has a town called Ironwood. It just never grows big but still makes excellent firewood.
Is this the same as 'Musclewood'? I occasionally see those around the woods. Always small. Biggest ever seen was maybe 6" at base.
No, but its my understanding musclewood is also called ironwood in some parts. I posted a thread about what turned out to be musclewood a while back. Is This Ironwood?
I just checked the FHC drying chart and blue beech is also called ironwood. Gets confusing! Here's that chart to those not familiar. Firewood BTU & Drying Chart
I had to google ironwood to satisfy my curiousity. Turns out there are a LOT of trees called it! Ironwood - Wikipedia
I recall as a kid seeing similar trees and learning they were called ironwood. I was kinda fascinated with the way they looked. Ive been a tree nerd since birth!
Burned quite a bit. There is one about 8-10 inch diameter encroaching on my woodshed which is coming down soon.
It's excellent firewood. I still have a few pieces of it from my parents old property and it's going to remain as a super cold reserve wood just in case it is needed. It doesn't get very large, but it makes great axe/ tool handles.
