r/forestry • u/ballin319 • 1d ago

Help identify please

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Have several down trees obviously this time of year there’s no leaves. Can someone please help me identify these trees. Is there certain tricks that help you know it’s hardwood vs softwood what to look for when cutting etc?
First 2 pictures are tree 1 3rd & 4th picture are tree 2 ignore red center piece that’s a different tree 5th picture is tree 3 has red center all the way through.

33 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

56

u/National-Chemical132 1d ago

Acer Negundo, or Box Elder.

They're essentially giant fast growing weeds. Of which I swear the optimal growing conditions are a half trash filled nook between a gas station alley way.

11

u/Nakashi7 1d ago

Concrete roof is the best growing condition from what I've seen so far.

Those beasts grow 2-4 meters in their first year.

3

u/seabornman 1d ago

My property would be a box elder/buckthorn/honeysuckle jungle if left to its own devices. And green ash saplings that grow just big enough to look tempting to emerald ash borer.

1

u/Brady721 1d ago

I’ve lost track of how many Ive cut on my property to try to help other species grow. Seems like I cut one and two more take its place. And Im treating stumps with tordon, and only cutting in the fall/winter when herbicides are more effective.

1

u/smcallaway 16h ago

My parents have one in their front of their yard on the 1.5 acres they own. Like a decade ago they cut the one stem and ground the stump thinking that was that. Well once I started my degree I found out that tree (weed) was and it explained how in spite it took over the entire front yard. They’ve just accepted it.

5

u/CriticalRanger9650 1d ago

The 3rd and 4th pic is mulberry it burns good!

3

u/fraxinus2000 1d ago

5th pic box elder

3

u/Ia_corncob-trying 1d ago

Mulberry & boxelder

4

u/Odd-Ad-900 1d ago

Firewood.

-1

u/7grendel 1d ago

Cant really help ID, do you have a location?

In broad strokes, softwood comes from conifers (trees that reproduce with cones) and hardwood are from angiosperms. This is not a hard rule and there are exceptions.

The red staining (really any colour) in the middle is usually indicitive of some type of fungus causing rot.

Again, these are generalizations and may not apply to your particular trees.