Need help with Tree ID

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A couple of windstorms fell some trees in town. They’ve been bucked up and I was gonna steal a couple rounds but want to know what I’m pilfering. Maple? Hackberry? Waddya think? Northern California if that helps anyone. 

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

17 Replies

Around here I'd say Ash.
Could be something different over there though 😀
I’m told ash and hackberry look very similar, so that makes sense. Anyone have experience working with hackberry?

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Pretty sure they are Ash. Just cut some up on my buddy's farm and they look like the same. The seed pods and the little buds on the smaller limbs, with the bark on the big pieces look exactly like the ones in my yard. Can't say if they are green or white Ash though.
I don’t think we have any ash here, but some internet searching looks like it might be hackberry. Which is too bad because it also says hackberry isn’t great for turning. 👎🏼

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Just had a quick wiki look up of hackberry - and they have berries instead of those helicopter seeds as near as I could tell.

Looks like you have a couple of types of Ash that grow in california though.
Hmmm….alright. I’m a terrible tree-ologist. Maybe it is ash!

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Looking at some more pics, maybe it’s a Box Elder?

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

If it is box elder that’s a pretty good looking lumber
I’ll go with Ash.  Bark doesn’t look coarse enough for Hackberry.  Box Elder may be a possibility too.
The seed pods make me think it’s Box Elder. The wood has a beautiful creamy color. If it’s still there when I get off shift in a few days imma grab a couple rounds for turning.

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

When it comes to turning, I generally grab it first and ask questions later.  
Yeah, probably should have done that…live and learn. It’s supposed to storm for the next couple days, and it’s the weekend, so maybe the city won’t get them picked up. 

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Looks like beautiful wood.

I am leaning away from Ash, but reading there are a lot of Ash "types" so....

Petey

Just now saw this.  In case you have not identified this, those seed pods definitely look like ash to me.  Box elder seeds look just like maple (because it technically is one) with 2 seeds and 2 wings attached to each other while ash seeds are single seeds with a single wing.  

Edit to add:  Hackberry by the way has little berries without wings.  They can make a horrible mess if growing over a side walk or when the birds eat them and later deposit them on your car.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

We’ve got a ton of hackberry in the city, and I’ve definitely seen the berries…everywhere. I’m just not an arborist, so my identification skills are lacking. I’m told we don’t have ash here (these are city trees, planted over the years, so I think they have at least some idea of what they planted) but who knows?

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

I am surprised that you see hackberry in Northern California.  Not exactly a tree that would be planted and the only species that I know of that naturally grows that far west is pretty rare out there, not that I know that much about other hackberry species.   

There is a native species of Ash that  grows out there.  In fact, it is sometimes called California Ash.  It could also be a non-native species that was planted or was from one nearby that someone besides the city planted.   The seeds spread and sprout fairly easily.  Before the emerald ash borer started becoming a problem, Ash tree were widely planted by cities. 

 Below is a picture of the seeds.  Most Ash trees have seeds very similar to this.  The leaves are also fairly distinctive as well.  The buds on the end of that stem in your picture above are a little atypical for ash in my experience but that could be normal on whatever species that is. 

 
 

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Yeah, I’ve got no idea. The small city we live in is very ‘green’ place. Lots of greenbelts, trees, walking paths, bike lanes, etc etc. I just looked at their website (which is pretty extensive) and they’ve got a pretty good city map and directory of trees. Not inclusive of course, but they’ve got a lot of info. That’s where I’m pulling this from…which, as I said, means very little. 

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".