Tree Identification

[Anonymous]

Can any of you northeast logging folks identify this tree. I have been clearing some of my land recently and have come across a bunch of saplings with these type of leaves and buds. What I really want to know is if the trees are acceptable to use as fire wood.

John

[mitchmaine]

hard to tell by the picture, john, but it looks like birch to me. maybe black birch. if that is so, most might consider it a weed tree, but it grows quick enough and can get big enough to burn. we cut and burnt grey birch on our farm all the time, but really just to get rid of it. might be elm, but looks more birch to me.
mitch

[john plowden]

I”l guess yellow birch -John

[Anonymous]

I was thinking this morning that a picture of the bark probably would have been helpful. Mitch, that was kinda what I was thinking, about it being a “weed” tree. There were so many small ones, and none of any real size. They did seem fairly dense though, so I wasn’t sure. John

[Jim Garvin]

My guess is it’s a black birch. Here is an article on one…

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/BlackBirch.html

[Anonymous]

Jim, thanks for the link. Based on that I would have to say the bark is not correct for the black birch. I will try to get some pics today if it ever stops raining.

[Baystatetom]

Looks like its in the birch family. Black birch has a strong wintergreen scent and flavor. Yellow birch a slighter scent and flavor. White birch or gray birch have no wintergreen scent at all.
when saplings Cherry is often mistaken for birch that has a unpleasant scent and flavor. Use all your senses. As far as firewood, if it burns use it. Worse case it burns fast and you need more of it but then it will likely be a hot fire and burn cleaner.
~Tom

[lukeduke]

looks like silver birch

[Tim Harrigan]

Any idea what this one is?

[mitchmaine]

@Tim Harrigan 27123 wrote:

Any idea what this one is?

might be locust?

[Tim Harrigan]

It has a heavy bark like locust. A lot of the branches turn at odd angles, and it is not really a hard wood. I think of it as a junk tree, not even very good for fire wood. Sort of a habitat tree though, woodpeckers seem to like to hollow out cavities in it.

[Matthew]

looks like sasafras (probably spelled it wrong) sas-a-frass has three different leafs and a perfume smell if you break a branch.

[Baystatetom]

Could be sassafras but the bark is usually more brown, the bigger trees only have one type of spear shaped leaves, they kind of lose the mitten ones as they get bigger. Sassafras also has simple leaves. Locust will have compound leaves and is in the legume family so it will produce big pea pod like fruit. My bulls love those giant pea pods. Honey locust has huge thorns top to bottom even on the trunk, black locust only has thorns on the smaller branches.
I used to go out and find a shrub or plant I didn’t know and try to figure it out for fun. Its good stuff. Although on the list of things I did before I had kids.

[Tim Harrigan]

Yes, it is sassafras, easy to ID now that the leaves are out. Thanks.

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