Rounded Leaves, Thick Bark, Yellow inside, Sap = ? (Pics)

[Hedgerow]

Osage Orange and the only thing a tad better than my firewood Rock elm.

Great score!

I gotta get me some of that "Rock Elm" someday. I'll see if I can find some in northern WI next time I'm up there... See ifn' it's as good as they say...

 

[zogger]

They're weeds... So don't go too Johnny Appleseed on us...

I think I might have seen some here, massive thorns, just real small. Never anything larger than five to ten feet.

 

[Cambium]

Thanks guys. Excited about this score now.

Yeah I had 3 dump truck loads of Elm delivered for free. I didn't know about the spaghetti inside but the time splitting was worth the heat.

 

[REJ2]

Awesome guys! Was just cut so I'll split now and hopefully by January/February be ok.

Oneof many links about the Osage Orange trees. Interesting history on it.

Ohio Trees - Osage Orange

Jan.- Feb. 2014 maybe, unless you got a kiln. This is a real tree, doesnt season well in 7 months.

 

[Hedgerow]

I think I might have seen some here, massive thorns, just real small. Never anything larger than five to ten feet.

Hmmm... Not sure what you got there... The thorns rarely exceed 1/2 inch... And hedge trees can get very large... I've cut some around 30", but most are under 20"...
No mistaking the softball size green fruits though... In some parts of the country, hedge is referred to as beaux d'ark... Pronounced "bow dark"...

 

[Hedgerow]

Jan.- Feb. 2014 maybe, unless you got a kiln. This is a real tree, doesnt season well in 7 months.

Agreed... But I have burned smaller splits in 3 months... Not ideal, but it got me by in a pinch...:msp_sad:

 

[Steve NW WI]

I gotta get me some of that "Rock Elm" someday. I'll see if I can find some in northern WI next time I'm up there... See ifn' it's as good as they say...

Say around August 11th? Specter29's GTG ?

 

[Hedgerow]

Say around August 11th? Specter29's GTG ?

... That would hopefully be it... :msp_rolleyes:

 

[Steve2910]

Agreed... But I have burned smaller splits in 3 months... Not ideal, but it got me by in a pinch...:msp_sad:

What's ideal? I (supposedly) have a "honey hole" of Hedge, free for the taking. Never burned it before. Haven't gotten around to checking it out yet, but it's not going anywhere. My plan is to cut it this summer/ fall for the 14-15 season. A young guy who works for me says it takes 6 (yes, I said six!) years to season. I thought that was absurd.

My only frame of reference for 26+MBTU wood is: Black Locust & Hickory, Oh & when the Dogwood blight came through in the 80's., but that was in my parents' open fireplace. BL wouldn't get any better after a year, & bugs would get the Hickory after 2... Share your wisdom. Thanx in advance

 

[Hedgerow]

What's ideal? I (supposedly) have a "honey hole" of Hedge, free for the taking. Never burned it before. Haven't gotten around to checking it out yet, but it's not going anywhere. My plan is to cut it this summer/ fall for the 14-15 season. A young guy who works for me says it takes 6 (yes, I said six!) years to season. I thought that was absurd.

My only frame of reference for 26+MBTU wood is: Black Locust & Hickory, Oh & when the Dogwood blight came through in the 80's., but that was in my parents' open fireplace. BL wouldn't get any better after a year, & bugs would get the Hickory after 2... Share your wisdom. Thanx in advance

6 years is crazy... Hedge is an extremely dense wood... Even when you cut it alive, it's lower in moisture than most trees... The sap that runs comes from a thin little layer that's just under the bark... The yellow heartwood will never flow anything... It's extremely heavy green, but not the heaviest... But it weighs the most dry of any wood I've dealt with... It loses very little weight because of its density... 1 year cure time will do fine... It will never rot, that's why I pile it outside, and all other species' in the wood barn. It's slow to ignite like coal, but once burning, it burns HOT and LONG... It leaves a lot of coals and klinkers ... I use it for very cold weather and overnight for coals... I have burnt it at 6 months and it still burns hotter than hell, but took a long time to get going... I wouldn't burn it in an open fireplace... The knots and knurles hold some stuff that tends to explode even after a year of seasoning... If you smoke with it, it has a hint of Mesquite smell... Kinda...

 

[Steve2910]

Thanx for the insight. Mulberry is more prevalent here, but the BTU charts are off by my experience... no way Mulberry is 25.8, & Black Locust is 26.8. Nothing readily available beats BL, but I can't wait to burn some Hedge.

 

[zogger]

Hmmm... Not sure what you got there... The thorns rarely exceed 1/2 inch... And hedge trees can get very large... I've cut some around 30", but most are under 20"...
No mistaking the softball size green fruits though... In some parts of the country, hedge is referred to as beaux d'ark... Pronounced "bow dark"...

I guess to be more clear, stout short beefy thorns, not long skinny spiky thorns. Very similar to the multiflora, but these are definitely trees, just all small, not tall and very narrow diameter.

 

[Hedgerow]

I guess to be more clear, stout short beefy thorns, not long skinny spiky thorns. Very similar to the multiflora, but these are definitely trees, just all small, not tall and very narrow diameter.

Hmmm... Pics if ya get a chance... Leaf too if possible...

 

[greendohn]

Jan.- Feb. 2014 maybe, unless you got a kiln. This is a real tree, doesnt season well in 7 months.

you could let the stuff "season" for 15 years(out doors/uncovered), and when you knock two pieces together it'll "ring". Hard, hard stuff!

 

[Cmccul8146]

My Dad and brother grabbed some free wood from their neighbor who just cut a tree down. When I got there the first thing I noticed is the yellow... next thing was the sap all over my hands when loading.



Do you guys have any thoughts? I was going to say Poplar but the sap is throwing me off.



Cambium, that's definitely Mulberry. I've cut some to saw into lumber on my bandsaw mill, & as you noted ,it's really yellow wood and sap just pours out of it . Very dense wood & burns really hot . No need to worry about creosote buildup after it seasons.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Just be careful if you burn in an open fireplace, it tends to pop a lot. OWB would be fine.

It does make nice tool handles and is a nice wood for turning.

 

[Freehand]

Another vote for Mulberry.

 

[Cambium]

that's definitely Mulberry. I've cut some to saw into lumber on my bandsaw mill, & as you noted ,it's really yellow wood and sap just pours out of it . Very dense wood & burns really hot . No need to worry about creosote buildup after it seasons.

Hmmm! Mulberry sounds good too. I found leaves online nicely matching it. Read that its the Osage Orange cousin.

Here's something about the sap from Mullberry.

----------------------------
I suspect the continued "weeping" from the old pruning cuts on the first mulberry tree is due to a bacterial infection of the heart wood called "wet wood disease." This is a relatively minor problem for a healthy tree.

Sap dripping from pruned mulberry
-----------------------------
Here's a picture of the leaves.

 

[haveawoody]

Hedgerow,

Great time to get Rock elm with all the dead and dying trees.
Tough on chains cutting standing dead but well worth the effort.
Easy id from other elms on the semi dead and living with a hairy underleaf.


It burns much like osage but IMO Rock is a much longer burn so great for night wood.
Hickory of similar size is out in the morning and rock still has hot coals.

I'm no osage expert since i never see it naturally growing here, burnt about 10 pieces i was given from a USA friend that said it's a dread weed.

 

[Hedgerow]

Hmmm! Mulberry sounds good too. I found leaves online nicely matching it. Read that its the Osage Orange cousin.

Here's something about the sap from Mullberry.

----------------------------
I suspect the continued "weeping" from the old pruning cuts on the first mulberry tree is due to a bacterial infection of the heart wood called "wet wood disease." This is a relatively minor problem for a healthy tree.

Sap dripping from pruned mulberry
-----------------------------
Here's a picture of the leaves.

The stuff you got is not Mulberry... I cut a lot of both... It's Hedge... Yes,, they are similar. Did you ever get the sap off your gloves???:msp_sneaky: