What kind of tree is this & what are these growths on it?

[WI_Hedgehog]

There's a lot of these trees growing in the woods in Central Wisconsin, I've only heard them referred to as "scrub brush." The wood is soft, low-energy, and doesn't burn well (it will burn initially then flames out if a draft isn't provided). Growths are found in clumps of approximately 5-10 trees in a tight cluster, with clusters being 5-20' apart. It seems the trees mostly branch out on an angle from the central cluster, with one occasionally "acting like a real tree" shooting straight up with "normal" limbs.


The leaves look kind of like poplar (a very soft hardwood), specifically a European aspen, except the veins are left-right instead of paired.
Technically, I'd guess the shape is obovate (egg shaped, narrow at the base). The margins (leaf edges) vary so much I don't know if they're sinuate (wavy), undulate (wide wavy), or crenate (rounded teeth).


That particular group of trees has some sort of unusual "buds" on established branches that I haven't seen before.


Other than grabbing a branch and walking around with it asking people, I'm not sure how to figure this one out since it's kind of a chameleon and most people don't seem to know what it really is.

 

[old CB]

Altho I'm not a smart phone user, others in my family with those things have an app with which you can photo a plant (tree, flower, bush, whatever) and it will identify it for you. Results I've seen are surprisingly accurate.

I recently cut a small branch of a brush species I was curious about and took it to a friend with the app and came away knowing what it is (bladdernut).

 

[buzz sawyer]

Witch-hazel?

 

[Ikeholt]

I'm with Buzz, we call it hazelnut.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Thanks @old CB , that's a great idea. There are several phone apps where I can take a picture and look it up when I get to town and have Internet, and one app downloads a database so should be useable offline.

@buzz sawyer nailed it, awesome!

They're not big trees, do you think some could be transplanted for residential city lot use? If maintained, would they grow straight and look like a "normal tree?"