Help identifying wood

[UserNameTaken]

So, I was up looking for some osoberry wood today, and I know that there's osoberry at this particular location, but I've never actually cut any, and it's not all that easy to ID a tree after it's dropped all of its leaves. Both of these trees grow like vine maple, but they both have red-ish bark & grow a bit straighter than vine maple. The pretty one's bark is a bit grayer, and I'm thinking that it's probably pacific dogwood. The others, I'm hoping, are osoberry--but I'm not all that sure.

Thoughts?

[UserNameTaken]

Also, the outer edges of the pretty stick are a much brighter yellow--like osage yellow.

[UserNameTaken]

And I live in Washington.

[Elktracker]

Got any pictures of the bark? Maybe a leaf too. The first one looks similar to Cascara

Josh

[UserNameTaken]

Hi Josh,

Nope. If I had a leaf, I would already know. I will go take a picture of the bark though.

As far as I know, Cascara doesn't grow like vine maple. This plant was an orgy of stumps coming out of one clump. If it were in a vine maple forest & none of the trees had leaves, you would think that it was vine maple also from a distance, which is why I think that it's pacific dogwood. But, I don't know what the dogwood looks like on the inside. 

Bark pictures coming shortly.

[UserNameTaken]

The first one is the yellow and pink stick, which I think is probably pacific dogwood.

The second is the cream colored stick, which I think is probably osoberry.



The colors in these photos are accurate. Both are obviously not vine maple.

[UserNameTaken]

1. Both of these trees look like big Octopi, or spiders, growing out of the forest floor.
2. The outer rings of the pretty one are actually a brighter yellow--like a really vibrant osage yellow. It also has a yellow cambium layer.
3. Both have reddish bark.
4. The pretty one smells a bit like smoked salmon when you cut it (weird).
5. They were both growing in swampy conditions, in partial shade.
6. They don't have quite as many crooks as vine maple, but they grow in a nice arc.
7. The biggest trunks are maybe 4" diameter.

If you've cut osoberry or pacific dogwood before, I would really love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

[vinemaplebows]

The second pic looks like dogwood. Dogwood is easily ID. If it is upright it will have (generally) 4 branches then a space 4 branches...space....going up the tree. Wood is a pinkish color, and very heavy. Not sure on the second, if I could have seen the whole tree, and it was native I could ID it. Does have the color of Cascara....kinda. Was there a blow down that busted them?

[UserNameTaken]

The cream colored one did seem to have the branch pattern that you're describing, and the wood does sort of have a pinkish cast, but it's EXTREMELY subtle. I was thinking dogwood for the brighter colored one, because I've heard about the pink wood before, and the center of that one is definitely pink.

The pink & yellow one might have been a blowdown growing shoots. In that case, I might think cascara. Could you describe what cascara looks like on the inside? I've never seen the inside of one. Do they have bright yellow cambium?

I'm starting to think that I didn't come back with any osoberry, which is what I went up there for in the first place. now I might have to wait for the leaves to pop to see what I've got.

[dwardo]

The second photo looks like a slice of roast beef. Looks like lovely stuff.

[Sempertiger]

I'm not sure about the yellow wood one, but the wood of the botom one looks like alder, and I've seen it with similar bark as well. Was the wood originally that pinkish color, or did it change to that after it had been cut for a while?

Can you by chance take a picture around where you cut them?

[vinemaplebows]

The brighter colored one is NOT Dogwood...no question about that. The bark on Cascara, and dogwood look similar on the out side, dogwood generally has subtle white patches on the outside, Cascara can have ever so slight varients depending on where it grows (light conditions) Cascara will have a yellowish cabium layer..very distict smell. Taste it....you will know if it is in a few hours...

[UserNameTaken]

Semper, I don't think it's alder. This is pretty dense stuff. I won't be back up there for a while so there won't be any picture of the actual tree. I don't think the wood changed color after I cut it.

[UserNameTaken]

I'll have somebody else taste it.    if dogwood & cascara look similar on the outside, then that's probably what these two are. The bark has only a subtle difference between the two. The Colorful one does have an odor, which I've described as smoked salmon & the cambium is bright yellow, so I'm thinking that it is, in fact, cascara. Will cascara keep it's color when it dries? Would make a striking bow if it does.

[Elktracker]

If its cascara it should keep most of its color but may be slightly lighter.

Josh