Please Help Identify this Shaggy Beast Tree!

[caliman99]

This is a tree in my district at work. It's in northern California and it is off a dirt path behind some houses on a dead end hillside screened by taller trees and brush, so it's been undisturbed for probably 50 years or so.

I'm usually pretty good at using guides to identify trees, but I am stumped here. I'm not even positive it is a tree. Maybe a shrub that can grow into a tree form if not pruned? Since it is the SF Bay Area, my first guess is always some Eucalypt species, but it's hard to match all of its characteristics into one species...

Description: EXTREMELY shaggy, almost horse-hair bark that grows in sprirals up its multiple twisted, gnarled trunks. Very very heavy wood. Old cut, exposed ends barely show signs of cracking! Doesn't have much foliage left... so not even sure if they are compound or simple. They are all 1/2" to 1-1/2" long. edges are entire. smooth, even green on both sides. rounded tips, elongated oval shape. the fruit looks like a 3/4" diameter sphere with the top 1/4 removed and edges peeled back to show a green layer with slits radiating from center. I only found ONE and included a picture of it, although it is a terrible pic.

If anyone can help out, I would appreciate it very much!

 

[Toddppm]

Looks sort of like a Russian Olive, except for the fruit looks wrong? Maybe because it's so old or a different variety?
Not sure they even grow there but was my first thought.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Pretty sure it is a type of Acacia, forgot which species right now.
Jeff

 

[caliman99]

thought about russian olive, but what about the extra shaggy bark and the fruit? can there be that much variety within that species?

****

after i couldn't find any eucalypts with similar leaves, acacias and locusts were my next guesses. the bark eliminates locusts (right?).

brain went numb researching acacias... catsclaw seemed possible except i didn't find any thorns on the branch i took. and i'm fairly sure there werent any on the smaller less shaggy branches... i could go back to see if there are thorns on the main trunks, or are there acacia species without thorns?

thanks for the help guys! are there definitive features to look for, for either of your suggestions?

thanks again!

 

[jefflovstrom]

I hope you let us know! You will, right?
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

thought about russian olive, but what about the extra shaggy bark and the fruit? can there be that much variety within that species?

****

after i couldn't find any eucalypts with similar leaves, acacias and locusts were my next guesses. the bark eliminates locusts (right?).

brain went numb researching acacias... catsclaw seemed possible except i didn't find any thorns on the branch i took. and i'm fairly sure there werent any on the smaller less shaggy branches... i could go back to see if there are thorns on the main trunks, or are there acacia species without thorns?

thanks for the help guys! are there definitive features to look for, for either of your suggestions?

thanks again!

It is a type of Acacia, I just can't remember right now. Brain fart?
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

I screwed up, I remember know! Leptospurmum.
Now i feel better, must of been alot of Acacia around that day. Anyway, " Leptospurmum."
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

Correct spelling--sorry! Leptospermum.
Jeff

 

[caliman99]

I screwed up, I remember know! Leptospurmum.
Now i feel better, must of been alot of Acacia around that day. Anyway, " Leptospurmum."
Jeff

You're the man!

I think you got it! After a little researching on Leptospermum (I NEVER would have figured THAT out!), it appears to Leptospermum laevigatum, or Australian Tea Tree.

The trunks on this one are almost two feet in diameter in places, so, according to what I gathered so far, it might be closer to 100 years old.

Nothing found so far on the quality of the wood for turning, but I want to believe it MUST be pretty interesting. Some of the world's best turnery wood comes from extremely slow-growing, gnarled species (Boxwood, African Blackwood) and this species seems to fit right in. The wood is definitely extremely dense, and has a nice salmon color. Since this tree looks to be on its last legs, hopefully i'll get a chance to try some of it out.

Way to go man! You solved a mystery I would've been stewing over for weeks!

Thank you for the help!

 

[derwoodii]

Awww darn it beaten to the buzzer. I saw the pic and knew it straight away as its my local coastal scrub tree down here in southern Oz.
Scrolled down and well done Jeffm.
Its tuff wood alright unsure about woodworking or turning quality but hey give it a go. It does burn well n good heat & hell on saw chain and chip knifes.

 

[caliman99]

Awww darn it beaten to the buzzer. I saw the pic and knew it straight away as its my local coastal scrub tree down here in southern Oz.
Scrolled down and well done Jeffm.
Its tuff wood alright unsure about woodworking or turning quality but hey give it a go. It does burn well n good heat & hell on saw chain and chip knifes.

Thanks for the confirmation! concurring opinions are always good to have!

And EXTRA thanks for letting me know about the qualities of it you're familiar with. "burn well n good heat & hell on saw chain and chip knifes" are all music to my ears. That tells me it's dense and heavy, so probably turns well and polishes up nicely. And not much info about it on woodworking sites means i get the fun of finding out myself!

thanks again! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to identify it and tell me what you know about it.