genuis edition: this tree was just cut down yesterday and the wood offered on CL. I went to get as much as I could. Primary plan is to use it for a hugel bed. backup plan is firewood!
I used my biology education to sleuth around for any kind of remnant leaf or any other clue...alas there are none but the size, bark, wood and location.
this guy was at least 40 feet tall with a havy trunk. The logs are quite heavy but may be from the moisture still inside. the different colored interior wood has me puzzled. This was a street tree in colorado springs so it may be one of the now 'unsuitable' species listed by the city forester as obviously it was planted very long ago. Hey there is a sycamore growing 20 feet away from it in another yard.
Super bragging rights if you can ID this. Consolation prize and much appreciation if you can at least tell me if this is one of the alleopathic woods. Have a great day!
Honestly, to me, the bark is too deeply furrowed for Black Walnut. Looks more like a big ash to me. (Have a big one by the driveway-->3' in diameter, 60+' tall...one of equal size had to be cut down as it was leaning over the highway.)
Chinese elm.
Smells like sewer doesn't it?
Whitish Grey sap bleed out where it has been wounded in the past.
Very high water content.
Hit it with a splitting mall and you will see what a wooden trampoline would feel like, as it has a twisted grain and is hard to split.
Notice the v check mark in the center of the wood water will actually pump from this when cut from above (all the way until the stump).
Sewer smell on hands when handling it.
If you notice there is one growing in the neighbors yard in your picture.
This species is poor fire wood until very dry as the high moisture content is slow in drying out. Would be good if left to dry until next year though.
Which species I'm not sure. It has elements that make me think it is Siberian elm and others American elm. We don't have Dutch Elm Disease in my area and there are numerous American elms remaining. I have cut one down and its wood looked very similar to that in the pictures. The last picture with cut surface shows very fast early growth, maybe too fast for an American elm but maybe not. The bark is a little bit rough for an American elm more like a Siberian elm. If the tree in the adjacent yard is the same species, the branching pattern looks more like an American elm.
Check the small branches in the upper part of the tree. On elms the buds just behind the tips will be dormant flowering buds and are noticeably larger than the last few buds which are vegetative. The flowering buds on American elm are much larger than the Siberian elm. American elm flower buds are 1/4 inch long and shaped like a pointed egg while on Siberian elm they are round and less than 1/8 of an inch.
I believe American elm wood has an interlocking grain and is very difficult to split.