Is this hickory? Anybody think they know what this is?

[toomanyknots]

Heres the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-rA1bzQLqo

Now I have found lots of leaves that look like they could be hickory leaves, but none that are attached to the stem in the pairs of five or seven or so like hickory should have I guess which is disappointing. I have not found any sign of nuts at all, which is also disappointing. But the bark is pretty shaggy, though not as much as I see in pictures of some shagbark hickory trees, and I have read that shagbark hickory grows very straight and tall which these tree definitely do. All the branches are at the very top. So so far:

-its got shaggy bark
-grows tall and straight
-all branches are at the top
-haven't seen one knot

...,and that is all I know about it at this moment. But if it is bow wood at all I will be happy. As it is very straight tall and no knots, with all the branches at the top giving it like 20 - 30 feet pure straight usable bow wood (I hope bow wood) on a 8" diameter tree! Like the complete opposite of osage or mulberry. Here is a pic I posted last week or something of some younger ones:



I did find some leaves which might look like this after it's dried up, but I don't know.

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Pecan_hickory/carillls.jpg

They looked too thin, like willow leaves to me to be this though, . But they might of just been dried up so much.



 

[Pat B]

I could be shagbark hickory but without more details it is hard to say. There are quite a few trees with shaggy bark.

[toomanyknots]

I have read that hickory has red stems. There were a good amount of red stems with small leaves kinda like willow or black walnut, they were too dried out to tell much. But there were lots of fallen red stems all over the ground, is it customary for hickory to drop it's stems with all the leaves on it in the fall/winter?

[Caius]

Chop it, season it, then experiment with it. It's what I would do, if there were anything other than Spruce and Pine around here :/ But alas, what's the worst that could happen?

[Acutus]

With that many trees and no sign of nuts I'd bet more on a type of Willow. I'm just looking in a field guide at this point but Crack Willow seems to fit the bill.

[toomanyknots]

Your probably right about it not being in the hickory family. I am kinda hoping that there is just a bunch of nonreproducing hickorys in one spot. Or else all the squirrels got ever little bit of em. Still would see a husk I'm sure. After looking at a bunch of crack willow bark pictures it does not really look like it could be crack willow. I have no idea if it even has willow looking leaves or what kind of leaves it has at all, that is just some of the various kinds of leaves around on the ground. Found a bunch of leaves and took em home to take pictures of but my camera batteries died. Yes, I agree that there is no good reason not to cut a small bit and see how it is. I just can't find nothing but hickory when I google " tall straight shaggy bark ". If my camera batteries hadn't died I would of had a lot better video and some good pictures. They are taller and straighter than crap. There is also a a bunch of trees all around em which has willowish leaves, but are also taller and straighter than crap, which I also haven't been able to find out what they are for nothin. (but are a totally different tree). I might go cut a small bit and seem how it smells when it burns.

[Acutus]

Well it'll be easier too when they get their leaves in a few weeks or so.