Tree ID...Elm or Ash?

[Dalmatian90]

Just noticed this one just off my lawn.

I haven't seen many elms in real life -- though I know they grow in the neighborhood because a neighbor a few years back commented they were cutting dead ones on their land. I looked closely at the leaves on an Elm a couple weeks ago.

Then a couple days ago I look up from the deck the other day and notice the leaves on this seem "saw toothed" to my eyes (albeit 43 years old and a few hundred feet away). My camera doesn't seem to be able to capture that from this distance.

The structure of the branches by the leaves makes me think Ash...but my known Ashes down at the bottom of the driveway have already lost their leaves.

 

[Whitespider]

It ain't elm.

 

[kyle1!]

walnut or hickory? doesn't look like elm or ash Brian

 

[Whitespider]

It ain't walnut.

 

[Dalmatian90]

I'm going to go with Ash then.

Bark doesn't look anything like my hickories.

 

[Hedgerow]

It ain't walnut.

Looks more like a Sumac tree...




But leaves don't seem quite right..
Scratch that guess...

 

[haveawoody]

Easy id, butternut.
In the walnut family.
<img src=http://www.norfolkwoodlots.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/butternut_mature_tree.jpg>

Another rare tree after disease pretty much wiped them out, and only marginal firewood.
Spread the seed and let it live.

 

[Whitespider]

I thought about Butternut... but I figured there should be nuts hanging or dropping this time of year.

 

[haveawoody]

Whitespider,

Yeah you almost have to id butternut from memory now.
So rare to see them anywhere.
Lack of nuts might be a pollination thing, if it's a one remaining tree then nuts will be very few.

I've maybe seen 10 of them over the years and about 1/2 of them in peoples yards.

 

[Whitespider]

Yep... another tree destined to become a memory.
It's estimated that the river bottoms of eastern Iowa contained over 1.5 million Butternut trees in 1990... now just 23 years later estimates put the count somewhere under 100,000. Around 95% of our Butternut trees have succumbed to the Butternut Canker fungus.

The flora of our continent is fast changing, at least in the eastern hardwoods... the American Chestnut is near extinct, the monster elms are all but gone, the ash is on its way out, Oak Wilt taking the Red Oaks, Oak Blight taking the Bur Oaks... anyone else noticing the Tar Spot on hard maples?? Soon, the only trees left will be junk trees... Siberian Elm, Box Elder and the like.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Butternut!?!?!???!!!

By George, more pics I look at on Google, the more I think Haveawoody's got it.

I wouldn't have in a million years even thought I had one, don't think I realized they grew around here!

 

[philoshop]

I was thinking butternut as well.
It seems that a lot of the nut trees are pretty barren in my area this year. Very few white or red acorns, almost no beechnuts, and just a handful of hickory. Even the walnuts seem a little light.
OTOH, the branches on the apple and pear trees and the grape vines are hanging on the ground with fruit like I haven't seen in years. :msp_confused:
And yeah, the maples are having a tough year. The ash that I have seem to be healthy though. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Whitespider]

We're up to our ankles in acorns and walnuts this year.

If it is in fact Butternut it don't appear you're gonna' get any nuts from it this year, but keep an eye on it and hope for a heavy mast year sometime in the next couple years... those butternuts are some damn fine eating!!

 

[jrider]

I was going to say white walnut. Am guessing butternut is just another name for that tree?