Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT DIY Shop

[RickP]

splotchy green/tan bark

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.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

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.

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 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.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

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]

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...

 

[Jeff Ivers]

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...

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]

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.

If it was silver maple, there should be volunteer silver maples about.

 

[RickP]

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).

Of those 3, I've only seen yellow poplar. I cut a lot of it for firewood (I call it a tulip tree). For a hardwood tree, the wood is actually pretty soft. But it does look like your photos of the milled boards; did they cut like soft pine? The tulip bark is really distinctive with its inner bark -- very stringy and wet when cut, and falling off the trunk when aged. That doesn't sound like a good match to your bark though?

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Of those 3, I've only seen yellow poplar. I cut a lot of it for firewood (I call it a tulip tree). For a hardwood tree, the wood is actually pretty soft. But it does look like your photos of the milled boards; did they cut like soft pine? The tulip bark is really distinctive with its inner bark -- very stringy and wet when cut, and falling off the trunk when aged. That doesn't sound like a good match to your bark though?

Since yellow poplar or tulip tree is supposedly not native to this area and since I have never seen any blooms on any tree on my property like those associated with tulip trees, I consider it very unlikely. Of course, I have identified a Buckthorn Bumelia tree on this property which is not listed on the native trees list put out by OSU. Which, is why I am stuck.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Haven't done much in the shop lately. While pursuing my metal detecting hobby back in May, I found 2 gold bracelets 2 weeks apart. Since this was somewhat of an unusual occurrence for me, I submitted the info to the Garrett Find of the Month contest. This past week they notified me I had been selected as a winner and sent me a very nice prize package!

So, I got out this morning for a few hours of metal detecting before the heat got oppressive. After three hours, I decided to move to a third site or head for home. Put my gear away and threw my keys on the passenger seat and closed the door to walk around and get in the drivers seat. Whoops - I somehow hit the lock button before I closed the door. I have a cell phone in my pocket but who to call? Dropped AAA insurance last year since it had been so long since I had used them. I had cracked the windows about 1/2" when I got out of the truck to moderate the heat build up. I had my leatherman on my belt, so I walked to a nearby tree and cut a branch about 30" long and 1/2" diameter at the thickest. Trimmed all the twigs off it. Through the window crack and snagged the keys (on a caribner) and lifted them up to where I could grab them through the window crack. Back in the cool in under 10 minutes! Thank goodness - all my drinks and tools were in the locked truck.

 

[bugnut]

ooo what a lucky man he was!

 

[Prospecter]

Always nice to hear from you. Clever solution to the locked truck problem. What did you win?

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Always nice to hear from you. Clever solution to the locked truck problem. What did you win?

I was really lucky on the truck/key issue. I spent several seconds wishing I had a coat hanger before I started looking for alternatives. I still can't quite believe the branch worked - apparently there was enough of a bump or high enough coefficient of friction to hold the carabiner while I raised the keys up about 18" and rotated them to where I could grab them off the stick.

The advertised prize for the find of the month was a new Vortex VX5 metal detector, but since I already had a VX9, they instead sent me a new set of wireless headphones, my choice of Vortex coils, a book on favorite finds, and a Vortex hat. I am looking forward to trying the new coil which should be better in water and noisy fields.