I.D. Tree in Indiana?

Can anyone help with this one. Sorry about the slight blur

Hi Brad--

Can you tell us the following:
- Where are you / the tree? Looks northern temperate US, am I right?
- Leaf shape?
- Looks like your tree is near to a wet trench / gully (where the grasses are) -- is that right? If in a wet spot, is it doing well, there?

Thanks -- love the plant and tree ID puzzles!
Mariamne

Mariamne Ingalls wrote:Hi Brad--

Can you tell us the following:
- Where are you / the tree? Looks northern temperate US, am I right?
- Leaf shape?
- Looks like your tree is near to a wet trench / gully (where the grasses are) -- is that right? If in a wet spot, is it doing well, there?

Thanks -- love the plant and tree ID puzzles!
Mariamne

I lol because we've been stalking this piece of property for 6 months now but its not ours YET! This is in northern Indiana just a few miles from the southern tip of lake michigan. There was no leaves on it so I cannot say what the leaves looked like. I would not call this a wet spot. It is on a slope about halfway down, but the slope is not really significant.

I should say that it did drop its leaves rather early. I believe this was the first one to drop. My dad tells me black walnuts drop their leaves pretty early.

The trunk looks a little light to be a black walnut. Looks more the color of a hickory trunk. You didn't get up close to it to see what kind of nuts (if any) it dropped? Those green hulls of the black walnut make it pretty hard to mistake for another tree when you see them all around the base.

agreed on the green hulls of walnuts. we saw none whatsoever.

Your really giving us a challenge here Brad.
If you could get a clearer, closer shot of the bark and branches that would help.
You might have to wait until spring to get some leaf and or flower shots.

i just don't want to get arrested

Well, received confirmation from a lumberjack that this is a black walnut. thought i'd share

Imho as an arborist I would say that it is either an autumn blaze or sugar maple. Its hard to say for sure.might be a silver maple.
Look on the ground under it to see if there are any seeds that look like a half of an airplane prop.
A tree that size should just be starting to develop a rougher texture in the bark at the lower parts of the trunk.
Buds in spring should be redish in color and are one of the first to start blossoming in spring.
If leaves are yellow in fall its a silver maple.
If orange red mixture of color in the leaves then it could be others.
It will make a lovely shade tree for you.
Best of luck with it.
Brian

Didnt notice you already had it looked at.
If you would like to double check his opinion cut a fallen limb.
if it has a black center its a walnut,if whiteish to pale tan its a maple.

Need leaf pics alternate or opposite branching ?

I guess walnut too. Very thick branching looks like its built to hold heavy fruits.

Hi all,

It is awfully tough to tell what that tree is with the picture. I'm a Forester with lots of Mid-west experience and I'm pretty darned sure that is no walnut. Its almost certainly not a Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra), it might be a european, but it is no North American Juglans or Carya. The steep angle of the branches kind of point towards a faster growing species, but that is hard to say in an open grown/manicured setting. The most diagnostic way to tell walnuts/butternuts from other trees is to break a twig laterally and check for a chambered pith. In your neck of the woods there are very few other woody plants with tree form that would have that. I'll refrain from hazarding a guess without some close up pics of branching pattern, leaves or buds.

http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/herbarium/trees/jugnig01.htm (click on the "twig" picture along the top row)

Just m 2 cents. Hope it helps.

J

I don't believe this is a walnut . My guess is also a maple . The dappled light to medium grey color pattern on the lower branches is a clue. What say you all to the possibilty of this being a hackberry tree ?

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)