Help IDing Tree?

[BRL]

Father in law is trying to find out if this might be good fire wood. He handed me a small piece of bark, piece from the middle, and a small branch. The bark is rough & brownish, the inside of the tree is a yellowish-orangish type of color (never saw anything like it - distinct), and the branch has thorns with ovate leaves. He says they are very tall & big. Is that enough specifics that somebody might know what it is? I looked through all of my literature but couldn't match it. Thanks for any help.

[Grassmechanic]

Hmmm. need more info. Maybe a photo. But I'll venture a guess - Black Locust

[Black Water]

Originally posted by Grassmechanic
Hmmm. need more info. Maybe a photo. But I'll venture a guess - Black Locust

Dido. Bark with thorns.Locust

[Bob Minney]

The orange wood color & thorn made me think of this also
osage orange
http://www.gpnc.org/osage.htm

[dvmcmrhp52]

Sounds like black locust.Best firewood for heating there is.
But it aint no fun to split by hand,very stringy like hickory.

[fblandscape]

I am going to agree with everybody else here. Black locust. If you are going to burn the wood, use a splitter to bust it up, and keep a good sharp axe around. Many people do however use locust for fence posts and things of that nature.

[dvmcmrhp52]

Yep,
great rot resistance.Farmers love it for fence posts.

[Bob Minney]

I'd like to see a pic of the wood. I have 2 black locust and though they have a yellow tint its not that distinctive. Possibly the higher Ph here makes for the color difference.

[Grassmechanic]

Originally posted by Bob Minney
The orange wood color & thorn made me think of this also
osage orange
http://www.gpnc.org/osage.htm Osage orange crossed my mind also, but I've never cut one down to see what color the wood is.

[BRL]

"It is ring porous and commonly confused with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)."

From one of the Osage Orange links. You guys are good! Thank you. It has to be the Osage Orange. I know locusts, and the leaf branch he gave me was not like those. Sounds like it will make a good firewood. Very hard wood for sure. He said when he tried splitting it the axe bounced off, but the same day he was splitting other types of wood with no problem. Thanks again.

[Team Gopher]

Here is a pic of a Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia. Click the image for the link.

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/tree/locustblackb.gif (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/tree/b-locust.html)

[racerdave]

BRL, If It is indeed osage orange or as we call it, Hedge, Be real carefull burning it. It burns very hot, and really builds a layer of creosote in the flue.

David

[JTHutch]

Osage orange is good fire wood burns hot but it does pop and crackle quite a bit.

[D Felix]

Locust and osage orange both will pop a lot. I would only use them in a wood stove, not a fireplace, as the popping will throw embers out of the hearth.

My wife is an art teacher, and a while back she was doing a pit firing of some ceramics with one of her classes. I sent a bunch of locust with her, not thinking what the popping would do to the pottery.... Needless to say, there were only pieces left when it was all done.....:(

I believe that osage orange (it's actually Maclura palmifera) is one of the hottest burning woods, followed closely by locust and hickory... I don't have my books here at home, but isn't the locust genus- Gleditsia? Not sure if I spelled any of the botanical names right, btw...


Dan

[Garth]

Locust and osage orange both will pop a lot. I would only use them in a wood stove, not a fireplace, as the popping will throw embers out of the hearth.

My wife is an art teacher, and a while back she was doing a pit firing of some ceramics with one of her classes. I sent a bunch of locust with her, not thinking what the popping would do to the pottery.... Needless to say, there were only pieces left when it was all done.....:(

I believe that osage orange (it's actually Maclura palmifera) is one of the hottest burning woods, followed closely by locust and hickory... I don't have my books here at home, but isn't the locust genus- Gleditsia? Not sure if I spelled any of the botanical names right, btw...


Dan
You spelled them right. Gleditsia tricanthos or honey locust is in the same family as Robinia but taxonomically speaking are different. Both are from the Fabaceae family ( Bean family) For my money almond wood and pear wood are the hottest. They use them in Waterford, Ireland to shape the molten crystal.

[jimslawns]

wow, alot of latin, takes me back to a dendrology class I had in college. I concure on osage orange (maclura pomifera) sp. This tree have any fruit on it? they are supposed to keep away insects and spiders. Osage orange is a very tuff wood. with excellent rot resistance. In my area they sell it as fence posts, and they are fairly expensive. Good Luck

Also, Fabaece family is a nitrogen fixer isn't it??

[Garth]

Legumes are indeed nitrogen fixers and are in that family. Well done that man.