Tree ID

[svk]

Not sure what this is. Very heavy (heavier than red oak for sure) when green.

Color similar to sugar maple but I'm 100% sure this isn't a maple.

First two are two of the four of these growing in a group.

Here's a standing dead (left) next to a green log.

Here's a branch from one of the live trees. Can't see here but it has a reddish tint.

 

[shorty2000us]

The first pic looks like an immature shagbark hickory. I have a few growing in groups of 3 or 4. About 8-10" dbh. But the other pics throw me off. I'm interested in what others have to say though, heavy wood is good wood

 

[svk]

Someone local had mentioned hickory but without a lot of conviction. That's why I wanted to check with the experts (you guys). I'm learning east coast trees but have a ways to go.

 

[Del_]

Another vote for hickory but not shagbark.

Maybe mockernut hickory.

 

[babybart]

Bitternut hickory.

 

[Landmark]

Yep I would guess hickory also. Feel like an echo

 

[svk]

I just did a google search and the bitternut examples I saw looked pretty spot on. Many thanks for the info!

 

[lone wolf]

Another vote for Hickory.

 

[babybart]

Bitternut and pecan look similar as far as the bark go but the twig looks more like bitternut buds.

 

[zogger]

The big dark heartwood is a giveaway for all the hickories I have cut. Much smell to it when you cut it?

 

[Jed1124]

The buds on a bitternut are sulphur yellow when broken apart, Mocker nut have large pubecent buds. Pignut small egg shaped buds. Always use bud type in winter id for hickory.

 

[babybart]

The big dark heartwood is a giveaway for all the hickories I have cut. Much smell to it when you cut it?

I got into a tree ID question about a month ago thinking the same thing but everybody else said elm. I don't have much experience with elm so I didn't argue.

 

[svk]

The big dark heartwood is a giveaway for all the hickories I have cut. Much smell to it when you cut it?

It had an interesting smell to it, fairly mild though. Not "hog barn" like I've heard folks mention on here a few times when discussing hickory.

 

[Johnny Yooper]

svk, if you're in Northern Minnesota, I doubt you have bitternut hickory, not impossible, but extremely unlikely, as I didn't think that tree grew that far north in the midwest. I've been cutting trees in the U.P. (basically the same country and latitude as you) all my life and have not seen a bitternut hickory until 16 years ago when I bought the land we're living on now here in Wis. In fact, this was the only tree I could not identify in my woodlot after I purchased the land; my brother in law is a forester with working range in the U.P. and upper half of Wis. and when he cruised my woods about 10 years ago I walked to the largest hickory, pointed and said "what tree is this?" and he had two guesses and one was bitternut hickory, evidently he had not seen any or many of these either. What clinched it years later was talking to a guy at work who gave me a cubic yard of hickory chips for smoking meat, the chips came from his firewood business (he gets tops and culls from his sons' logging operation). I described this mystery tree to him...I said the bark is somewhat smooth and looks like wrinkled boot leather and right away he says bitternut hickory.....when he loaded the box of chips onto my pickup he tossed a split from a hickory round on top of the box and asked me the next day if that was the tree I had in my woods and I said that is exactly it.

At this point I'm guessing soft maple (aka red maple) because: 1) they tend to grow in clumps (you mentioned these are growing in a group), 2) and, while the pic of the tree on the left does not readily appear as soft maple, the pic on the right is a dead ringer for it, and 3) you referred to a reddish bud on the twigs - another sign of soft maple. I have a lot of soft maple as well as bitternut hickory in my woods and a lot of the maples are part of groups of up to five or six trees together while I haven't seen any hickories in a clump, at least not here. If you had more pics of all the trees in that group and a pic or two from 6 feet or so away as well as pic of the entire tree to the top, that would shed more clues.

 

[Gypo Logger]

My first gut feeling was Basswood after looking at the bark of the first pic. I like the tree ID threads. I could be wrong about my assumption though. Species from region to region can fool you.
Sometimes trees like to remain inconspicuous and will take on characteristics of other species around them as far as the bark is concerned.
John

 

[svk]

svk, if you're in Northern Minnesota, I doubt you have bitternut hickory, not impossible, but extremely unlikely, as I didn't think that tree grew that far north in the midwest. I've been cutting trees in the U.P. (basically the same country and latitude as you) all my life and have not seen a bitternut hickory until 16 years ago when I bought the land we're living on now here in Wis. In fact, this was the only tree I could not identify in my woodlot after I purchased the land; my brother in law is a forester with working range in the U.P. and upper half of Wis. and when he cruised my woods about 10 years ago I walked to the largest hickory, pointed and said "what tree is this?" and he had two guesses and one was bitternut hickory, evidently he had not seen any or many of these either. What clinched it years later was talking to a guy at work who gave me a cubic yard of hickory chips for smoking meat, the chips came from his firewood business (he gets tops and culls from his sons' logging operation). I described this mystery tree to him...I said the bark is somewhat smooth and looks like wrinkled boot leather and right away he says bitternut hickory.....when he loaded the box of chips onto my pickup he tossed a split from a hickory round on top of the box and asked me the next day if that was the tree I had in my woods and I said that is exactly it.

At this point I'm guessing soft maple (aka red maple) because: 1) they tend to grow in clumps (you mentioned these are growing in a group), 2) and, while the pic of the tree on the left does not readily appear as soft maple, the pic on the right is a dead ringer for it, and 3) you referred to a reddish bud on the twigs - another sign of soft maple. I have a lot of soft maple as well as bitternut hickory in my woods and a lot of the maples are part of groups of up to five or six trees together while I haven't seen any hickories in a clump, at least not here. If you had more pics of all the trees in that group and a pic or two from 6 feet or so away as well as pic of the entire tree to the top, that would shed more clues.

I am spending the week near Albany NY. Was cutting here yesterday.

 

[blacklocst]

+1 on the Red Maple after reading JY's post. Even though Red Maple is considered a soft wood, it does have some heft to it.

 

[svk]

I'm 100 percent sure its not a maple, I believe we nailed it as bitternut.

 

[babybart]

Can you get us a picture of a split?

 

[svk]

Perhaps I can on Friday when I work again.