Hop hornbeam and pig nut.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I have noticed the back of the leaf tells the true story. Hackberry, all the elms and various hornbeams have very similar leaf shapes and sizes. The vein count or spacing on the back is what matters. It may be American hornbeam, but Hop sure doesnt look like that in my books. I have lots of tree books in color and b/w. Im a bit of a tree freak nowadays, well beyond bow wood.

 

[PatM]

Show us a close up of your end cut. I'm surprised everyone is being stubborn about what HHB looks like based on the trees they see. Very variable like I said.
 I could show a pic of a silvery shaggy barked one growing right next to one with the bark broken into small rectangles and that slight white fungus like growth that those trees often have..
 The tree is called Hop hornbeam because it produces hop-like seed clusters.
 There will be no mistaking the end cut with any Elm, that's for sure. The split log will also reveal the characteristic brittle punky inclusions of grown over knots with dark extended streaks around them.

[osage outlaw]

If it's elm, good luck splitting it. 

[blackhawk]

Now look what I did...sorry for starting a wood id debacle..lol

Im not saying it isn't or is...just by looking at your kinda hard to see n tell pics it doesn't...I've been up n down the east n all over the midwest where it grows,and yes I've seen slight differences geographically. Open up that woodgrain and we'll know for sure   now you have to to put this at rest,and so one of us can say "I told ya so"...lol ....is it just me or do I enjoy the stubborn disagreements amongst bowyers(as long as it don't end in fistacuffs)...

What a stubborn lot we are ....

[DRon knife]

I'm not sure how to say this but the nay Sayers are right,I should of ask your opinions and not been so stubborn and adamant,after all you guys been at this a wile,lesson learned! The tree's were all together and after an hour or so the answer was right there in the tops of the tree,the HHB's retained some of their seed wile the tree's that had me confused didn't, sorry bout that guys! I saw a few good HHB's and brought two back with me,take a look! the last pic is of the mystery tree.
                                         

[blackhawk]

 ... .... its all good,no big deal man,we all make errors n live n learn ....AND..I told ya so..lol ...I still think its elm

And that one IS HHB you cut...not bad looking either .....HHB is at at the top of my whitewood list for bow wood

[PEARL DRUMS]

Yup, thats the real deal. And quite straight and clean for HHB. Very nice find.

[osage outlaw]

My first and only HHB tree I cut turned out to be elm. 

[Bevan R.]

Now that you got some HHB, feel free to send the other my way.
I will store it for you, see if it bends, that kind of thing.

[DRon knife]

Wicked cool guy's thanks!!:-[I'm back to the yard now splitting the hickory because it check after only one day,It has a slight twist to it so I'm having trouble.

[PatM]

I thought that guys were saying that the trunk which clearly is HHB wasn't actually. No real opinion on the mystery tree.

[okie64]

Splitting hickory is always a lot of fun! 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Those are different pics Pat. That wasnt HHB in the first set. The last set is a fresh HHB he just cut after realizing his error in cutting elm.

[DRon knife]

I made a mess out of that hickory,I suddenly realized why I had a friend cut the last one into boards!! I ended up snapping a chalk line and running the skill saw down it just to save one stave..bummer!!

[Pappy]

Cool,looking good now. Hickory can be tough,just be sure before you cut one for a bow the bark runs straight up the tree and not spiral around it and they will usually split straight. :)We split a lot of Hickory,I always cut in early summer and they may be the reason it splits better,I do it because then I don't have to deal with the bark,it slips right off in the early /Mid summer but very tough to get off in the winter. 
   Pappy