Guess the type of wood game

Meaningless Drivel is where the games are at!

I have a new one, which admittedly I would suck at playing but I think a lot of permies would excel at.

Here's a picture of something I pathetically hacked up with a pruning saw for miniature firewood. It's not seasoned yet, but I brought it in to dry by my woodstove.

Can you guess what this is?

Apples for correct guesses after at least a few folks have given it a try.

Are they roots? Perhaps hickory?

My first thought was hackberry, the bark varies widely from almost completely smooth to almost completely bumpy.

Though hackberry bark is always the same "steely whitish gray" color and your wood looks darker.

Great idea for a game!

Huxley Harter wrote:Are they roots? Perhaps hickory?

I thought someone might guess roots, but they are not roots!

Not Hackberry either.

Hmmm....that's not dried up mistletoe coming out of pine by any chance?

Greg Martin wrote:Hmmm....that's not dried up mistletoe coming out of pine by any chance?

Nope!

I like the guesses, though!

I'm so happy others are playing along!

Want any hints?

It grows rampantly in the Seattle or Pacific Northwest area, but it is not a native.

It makes a friend of mine break out in a rash, but it doesn't bother me.

poison ivy or one of its rhus brethren?

This is a great mystery, love it!
Is it wintercreeper/euonymus?

greg mosser wrote:poison ivy or one of its rhus brethren?

Sooo close! Though from a scientific/botanist classification, not in the same family or even the same order, but it IS from the same 3 top-most "clades" (as I look at Wikipedia as a guide...I'm certainly not a botanist) as poison ivy.

Heather Sharpe wrote:This is a great mystery, love it!
Is it wintercreeper/euonymus?

Nope!

Though today I learned that euonymus shares 4 "clades" with poison ivy while mine only shares 3 "clades." So fascinating!

Here's what I mean by "clades"

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_rydbergii - the North American poison ivy

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euonymus

Other plant websites might have better details than Wikipedia, but this was quick and easy for me to grab.

And the image in the OP only shares the top three of these.

so, to be clear, is the hairiness isn’t damaged bark, but a natural feature of the plant while it’s growing?

greg mosser wrote:so, to be clear, is the hairiness isn’t damaged bark, but a natural feature of the plant while it’s growing?

What a fabulous question! Yes, the "hairiness" would be considered a natural feature.

English Ivy?

Russian olive?

Heather Sharpe wrote:English Ivy?

Ding, ding, ding!! You guessed it! Well done and apples for you, Heather!!

I did not know that English ivy, common ivy vines could get this massive. These are the vines that were strangling a majestic Douglas fir tree in the wooded part of the property where I live. Some are/were even thicker than this!

Who knew there could be such a thing as ivy wood to burn for heat?!

Now I wonder if anyone else has a picture for a brain teaser.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Ding, ding, ding!! You guessed it! Well done and apples for you, Heather!!

I did not know that English ivy, common ivy vines could get this massive. These are the vines that were strangling a majestic Douglas fir tree in the wooded part of the property where I live. Some are/were even thicker than this!

Who knew there could be such a thing as ivy wood to burn for heat?!

Now I wonder if anyone else has a picture for a brain teaser.

Thank you for the apples and the super fun game! I hope folks keep playing!

That is crazy it got that big...guess I better turn the rest of the ivy near my spruce trees into baskets sooner than I thought, just in case it gets any ideas! I've got a good one, will have to get some pictures tomorrow.

This one is quite peculiar; I'll warn it doesn't look like a typical specimen of it's species.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Meaningless Drivel is where the games are at!

I have a new one, which admittedly I would suck at playing but I think a lot of permies would excel at.

Here's a picture of something I pathetically hacked up with a pruning saw for miniature firewood. It's not seasoned yet, but I brought it in to dry by my woodstove.

Can you guess what this is?

Apples for correct guesses after at least a few folks have given it a try.

Obviously, these are woods....

Jordan,
I'll play.
Hedge apple aka. Osage orange aka. Bodark aka.  Maclura pomifera?

Marty Mac wrote:Jordan,
I'll play.
Hedge apple aka. Osage orange aka. Bodark aka.  Maclura pomifera?

Good guess, but nope!

It reminds me of the spoons Paul and others made out of serviceberry aka saskatoon or Amelanchier alnifolia, though I think that might not be it...is it?

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:It reminds me of the spoons Paul and others made out of serviceberry aka saskatoon or Amelanchier alnifolia, though I think that might not be it...is it?

Nope! Try again!

A cousin of my first guess, Mulberry ? aka Morus.

Mimosa?


...beautiful spoon by the way!

Thanks Judith! The spalted part does look like mimosa heartwood, but this wood is normally a uniform creamy white color. It's not a mulberry, but it is some type of berry...

Hmmm?
Creamy white berry with those grain characteristics makes me think Hackberry.
What finish have you applied?

Marty Mac wrote:Hmmm?
Creamy white berry with those grain characteristics makes me think Hackberry.
What finish have you applied?

Yes! We have hackberries galore here! It is truly an underrated wood. The finish is pure beeswax.

I love it! Judith is right that your spoon is beautiful Jordan. More apples to you and Marty from me!

Now I'd love to see some "normal" looking Hackberry wood, too.

Looking forward to more pictures for this game...

Your spoon turned out beautifully!

I haven't truly carved spoons, I have far to many power tools and projects that keep pushing hand carving to the bottom of my list. I have made a few spatulas and a mixing spatula that I made from Osage orange over 10 years ago. I just cant seem to wear them out. My Osage versions look very similar when they were new.

I would be willing to bet Hackberry is easier to carve!  

I like the idea for this game!

Here's one from central/east:

Ooh, that looks like a good one, for the game, John!

Random guess only because I've seen people cut it to the ground before:  buddlea davidii (sp?) or butterfly bush?

Edited to add:  do you mean central/east N. America? (On my phone which doesn't show location.)

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Ooh, that looks like a good one, for the game, John!

Random guess only because I've seen people cut it to the ground before:  buddlea davidii (sp?) or butterfly bush?

Edited to add:  do you mean central/east N. America? (On my phone which doesn't show location.)

Nope! But this individual was being cut back for management reasons.

Yes, central/eastern North America.

a ‘cedar’ of some kind is my guess, whether botanically a true cedar or something that’s just referred to as such.

Just a guess based on the bark and growth pattern.

I'm going to go with some flavor of willow on your post John.

greg mosser wrote:a ‘cedar’ of some kind is my guess, whether botanically a true cedar or something that’s just referred to as such.

You are very much on the right track.

is it a thuja?


i’ve got a pretty good one to follow this up with.

No correct guesses yet.

Here is a range map, and another picture (not my picture, but it shows some that has been freshly cut, where as the original image I posted had been sitting in the sun for some time):

Image #2