Tree ID

yomtates

Hey I found this tree in the Chester River in Maryland 10 years ago and been cutting pieces off over the years. Was wondering what kind of wood it is? It's a dark red almost like a Cherry, very hard and the grain is out of this world crazy. Never seen a tree around here like this and I have been carving trees from this area for the past 18 years. When I work with it it has the smell of a Cherry wood....but it certainly doesn't look like any Cherry tree I have ever seen.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Brent Ferris

How about a pic of the cross section and the verticals - radial and vertically along the stem?

You said you found the log floating in the Chester River, or the tree had fallen over, into the Chester River. If the log was floating in the river, it could conceivably have fallen from a wharf, and drifted near to you.

Your description suggests a possibility of mahogany.

The numerous bumps on the stem show a preponderance of adventitious buds, prob giving a bird's-eye like appearance.

yomtates

The tree when I came across it was laying on the shore line. Looked like it had been there for a while. There is a cliff behind it where natural erosion is occurring. I just assumed it had fallen off the cliff and was laying there.The whole insides of the tree are gone so it was just the outer circle of the tree maybe 8"at the thickest. What ever kind of wood it is it's a tough wood. The tree in all the years I have been taking pieces from it has not changed at all except for the amount of barnacles on it. I took this picture of a cut I made not sure if you can see anything from it.
I thought the same thing that maybe it fell of a boat a long time ago Cause Baltimore as the crow fly's is about 20 miles away on the other side of the bay. Where I found it is about 10 miles up the river. So it could have floated up there some how and landed on that beach.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Brent Ferris

Unfortunately the pic of the wood is not in sharp focus. Can you see visible rays in the cross section? The colour, and the hardness, and the centre rot, strongly suggests American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) or perhaps European Beech (F. sylvatica). Both woods are very hard, but turn well -- can have twisty grain; if heartwood is present, is commonly a dark reddish brown, and the wood is usually much harder than cherry. Also often very difficult to dry without cracking.

yomtates

I thought Beech wood was lighter in color? Also I thought Beech wood has a smooth (not that this had any bark on it)bark and I have never seen one with those type of nobs on the outside. The whole grain runs in a spiral pattern. I will try to take a better picture, my camera isn't the best going to see if I get get a better shot of it. THe wood is incredibly heavy as well. Does beech wood last thru time and the elements as well? Thanks for your input.

Brent Ferris

Beech can have spiral grain. The nobs are typical of a tree with a large number of adventitious buds, typically grown there because of adverse conditions. If the log is waterlogged, almost any wood will survive for an incredibly long time. If the log is big enough, it will withstand elements and time thru its mass. Beech wood can vary in colour from creamy light brown, to dark medium brown, often deep reddish brown.

Pics of grain may help us ID the wood; there are also people who can identify wood species if you send them a small sample - typically a 1 x 1 x 1 inch cube.

TreeSpecialist

Perhaps a bald cypress - taxodium distichum

__________________