What free wood did you find today?

I tried to re-enact your photo. I can do the Spock thing and hide the pinky, but can't get my thumb to bend like that. Great find.
 
Your HD has Red Meranti???? Boy do I live on the wrong side of the tracks. Cannot even buy cedar at ours now.
 
If any of those are solid enough to hollow through the pith, it would make a cool looking piece!
 
Could very well be a trident, I was just repeating what the owner told my partner. No leaves on the tree and what was on the ground was such a mix after wind storm, that I really didn't look.

I've never handled any box elder, so just trusted what was said. I'd trust your assessment more than guesses from the homeowner.

Going to be doing some work in that neighborhood later today, so I'll stop by and see what I can find for leaves.
 
Cool looking blanks Tim. If the inside is all soft and punky, before you burn it, don't forget those of us who use little pieces. Some of that in the light/dark boundary might make an interesting reel seat - you know, just making mention, just in case...
 
Ain't never seen a trident maple with that kinda bark. I've got a 40 year old one in the yard and a hundred of all sizes in pots. I give them away to bonsai guys.
 
In the world of Trident maples there are a number of differing "varieties". Like japanese maple, but with a whole lot less varieties. Some tridents have a tulip (outward facing lobes) while others are more like a red maple. However, they all have 3 distinct lobes (reason for the trident in the name) with each lobe with their own veining pattern. This does not have three lobes with distinct veining for ear. It is a singular lobed leaf with very ragged edges. Besides Trident bark is usually relatively smooth and light grey until at some point it becomes somewhat exfoliating - sometimes revealing a orangish brown inner bark. I'm leaning toward Amur Maple or possibly Tatarian Maple (I've never seen one, but they are supposedly closely resembling an Amur)
 
Here is a straight on picture of the bark, shows it much better than the pic in the back of the truck.

I have no educated guess on this, when it comes to landscaping trees that aren't growing on my property, I'm poor on ID. Working on it, but .... Wanted to take the Woody Ornamentals class when I was at Wisconsin, but...

PXL_20221027_204055033.webp
 
Think Mike is on the right path. When I said Trident, I did not mean Acer buergeranum, but a cultivar of Red maple. I only dealt with 'Tatarian maple' in Colorado, and never handled any larger stems with fissuring bark, just the smooth bark of young specimens.

The leaves match well with Acer ginnala, 'Amur maple'. I've never worked with any stems bigger than 8" DBH. The smooth gray bark can get lines like a Service berry's bark and split in similar patterning. A squatty tree, zone 2-8, samaras are said to hang on the tree into late fall, sometimes through the winter. Find any of them?
 
Thanks Mike and Mark! Appreciate all the info and the ID.

Looking at lots of pictures of "Amur" I think that's it. Tree was full of samaras. This one had a base of~ 26" at ground level, but that was with three trunks grown together. Largest trunk was maybe 12" DBH with the other two ~8". Height was around 15'.

Can now add this to my knowledge base and hopefully remember it when I come across one again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top