Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: timmyd on May 18, 2017, 09:04:19 am
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Looking for some help identifying this tree. I'm thinking some kind of dogwood but what do you think? Below are pics of the leaves and bark
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It's definitely not dogwood. The veins run parallel at leaf margins on dogwood, and the bark is blocky on dogwood. Sorry, not much help
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Not a dogwood! Where do you live. That will help with ID.
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Has a bit of a hickory look to it. But, could be anything.
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The leaves to me say hickory.+ 1 of what PD said.The bark is sketchy but older and younger hickories bark can look a little different.I've got lots of hickory here around me.Only 2 kinds though.Shag and Pignut.
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Leaves not arranged like hickory. Hickory leaves are compound, with leaflets opposite except at the end of the twig and each leaflet is usually larger than its neighbor that is nearer the trunk. Terminal leaflet the largest. Also, Hickory leaves are flat and not at all scalloped on the edges.
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Almost looks like a native magnolia. Has it bloomed this year yet?
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I don't see scalloped edges.If that's so elm comes to mind to me,but the leaf arrangement is just like hickory here.
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Not a hickory...at least none I've seen.
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Pennsylvania and I'm totally stumped. I thought hickory to but I don't think that is it. I've looked online for about an hour and just can't seem to find it. There's a whole grove of this with some nice straight trunks.
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Yes I took another look at the hickory here.That pic does look different.Not a hickory.
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Is it a buckeye?
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With the leaves at the end of the branch it should be easier to ID but I don't have my ID books with me.
Buckeyes have compound leaves also, palmately compound.
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Leaf looks similar to southern magnolia, but the bark is smooth!
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This is obviously a deciduous tree. Southern magnolias are evergreen...at least they develop new leaves before they drop their old ones. The Frazier Magnolia, big leaf magnolia and cucumber magnolia all are deciduous, some have smooth bark, others furrowed bark.
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Took a look at the elm and buckeye here too.It's not that either.
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How about Blackgum or Cucumber Tree?
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Any nuts or fruits on the ground? I know its the wrong time of year, but maybe something is left. Pic of leaves on the ground?
Kyle
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Upstate, I thought of black gum but the bark doesn't look right and a cucumber tree is one of the deciduous magnolias.
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Paw Paw ??
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Paw Paw ??
Nope.
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Pawpaw is smooth bark...at least the ones on my property.
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I almost want to say it's from the buckeye or horse chestnut family but I just can't get a positive identification. This has really thrown me for a loop
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Sort of looks like walnut, but that's a wild guess. Check with the county extension office, they can very likely give you a positive I.d.
Hawkdancer
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Walnuts are compound leaves also. Buckeye and Chestnuts have compound leaves also.
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We have lots of walnut here and the leafs don't match this tree
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When I went to some horticulture classes when I was younger there were a number of ways to identify trees.Leaves/fruit/bark/overall symmetry or shape from a distance.You've shown 2 identification markers.
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Maybe a Rhamnus. The leaves look very much like a Cascara. I know I'm about 2000 miles west so it won't be Cascara. Something like a Buckthorn maybe.
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Buckthorn has Cherry or Black Birch-like bark and looks really scrubby in general.
Take a pic that shows more of the whole tree.
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have you tried a key?
here is one of many available, best go back and review some of the choices I was playing with
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/key/key1.cfm?state=&zone=&habit=tree&leaftype=broadleaf&Phyllotaxy=alternate
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More pictures! This is driving me nuts!
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I think black gum - if you google images, the bark looks very similar. More pictures would be good though.
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I'll get Some more pics tomorrow yes this is driving me nuts to
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Could be black gum, but I'm thinking maybe sourwood as well. PA is just on the northern edge of the tree's range which would make it uncommon but possible.
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Any signs of flower or fruit? It does look rather like Black Gum (tupelo).
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Not sourwood and I don 't think gum either.
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I'm surprised Pearly hasn't guessed Mongolian Tulip yet ;D
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Kinda hard to tell from the pictures, but are the leaves 5 bladed? If its Ohio buckeye you should be able to grind up the leaves or bark and take a whiff, if it stinks its another indicator of a buckeye.
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Those leaves are singular and not compound.
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I only have a tree ID book for Minnesota. I looked through my entire book and didn't find that tree so it must not grow here. It does look like now wood to me though. Nice and straight. I would cut one and split it up into staves.
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I've got my money on Blackgum until someone proves me wrong. It's found in PA and check out this bark pic I got off a reputable website...
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And here's a leaf pic...
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Looks like blackgum to me.
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You could be very well right Jeff.Looks like it.Is black gum good bow wood?I don't have it here.
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I don't know if this matters but the leaf pics of black gum I've seen online have 5 leaflets. These trees have 4. Again not sure if that makes a difference.
That's why I'm trying to identify this tree...some of them have nice trunks that would yield plenty of staves if it's a bow wood
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Timmyd -
The leaves are actually simple leaves (single "leaf blade"), not compound. Those in the picture are just showing a twig that happens to have 5 leaves. The leaf number on a twig can vary.
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I still don't think it is black gum. Black gum will make a good bow but the wood has interlocking grain and it is a bear to split...even more so than elm.
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Blackgum also tends to have 90 degree branching and the leaves will occasionally have the devils horns. I would suggest id by buds.
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It's either black gum or cucumber tree, leaning towards black gum. Cucumber tree has bigger leaves than black gum