RickP
Well-known member
I'll bet it's a sycamore tree (we call them buttonwoods too).
The knots didn't really look like a tulip tree, and I think the mottled bark really points to a sycamore.
Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT DIY Shop
- Thread starter Jeff Ivers
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Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.
The knots didn't really look like a tulip tree, and I think the mottled bark really points to a sycamore.
OP
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
Well, I just looked up sycamore tree on the internet and neither the bark nor wood match what this is. The bark is not splotchy green/tan. The bark on this reminded me of hickory - darker gray, almost black, with strips of bark curling up. However the bark appearance may have been affected by how long this tree had been dead or by whatever killed it. Good suggestions. I tried the only tree book I have, but the bark illustrations in it are almost worthless - book relys mostly on leaves and blooms/seed pods/nuts.
RickP
Well-known member
Well that's strange -- all the buttonwood trees around here have splotchy bark.
I found these sycamore photos online:
But I'm not too familiar with hickory, so that might be a better match.
I found these sycamore photos online:
But I'm not too familiar with hickory, so that might be a better match.
OP
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
Here are hopefully better pictures of the bark and wood of the tree I am trying to identify. So far, I think I have ruled out 41 species. There were no thorns on this tree. I have used 2 tree books in conjunction with internet searches on the wood and bark of each tree that I was trying to match/eliminate. Next, I am going to try to find a list of trees native to Oklahoma and go through them. Sure would have been easier if I had known in advance this tree was going to die so I could have taken a picture of the foilage and and any blooms!
RickP
Well-known member
You're right -- that doesn't look like sycamore bark.
I've cut a couple of black locust trees that look a bit like those boards. Was the wood really hard when you were cutting it? The only thing is, that bark doesn't look like it has furrows that are deep enough.
Do you remember if the tree dropped any thorny seed pods? The wood also looks a bit like a sweet gum tree, but those thorny gum balls are impossible to forget...
I've cut a couple of black locust trees that look a bit like those boards. Was the wood really hard when you were cutting it? The only thing is, that bark doesn't look like it has furrows that are deep enough.
Do you remember if the tree dropped any thorny seed pods? The wood also looks a bit like a sweet gum tree, but those thorny gum balls are impossible to forget...
OP
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
The first trees I cleared from my 5 acres were all the Locust trees - due to the thorns. I know some Locust trees do not have bad thorns, but as far as I can tell they are not native to this area. Also, this wood is not as hard as the Locust wood I have cut. I have had sweet gum trees on a former property and have never seen any of their seed pods anywhere on this property.
So far, I have reviewed 59 species and think there are only 3 likely possibilities - Western Soapberry, Hop Hornbeam, and Yellow Poplar (the Poplar is supposedly not native to this area). Bitternut Hickory, Silver Maple, and Sugarberry are less likely possibilities. Can't figure out (yet) any step to take to further narrow it down.
Prospecter
Well-known member
If it was silver maple, there should be volunteer silver maples about.