# Is this Sassafras or not??? Tree I.D. Please..



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Everyone tells me that Sassafras is easy to split. Having a dickens of a time splitting it. Maybe I mis-identified it...What do you guys think.....


----------



## Doug MacIVER (Mar 30, 2014)

does it smell like root beer?


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Doug MacIVER said:


> does it smell like root beer?


Hard to tell......


----------



## Doug MacIVER (Mar 30, 2014)

as a kid , we had sassa all over the place. they never grew to tree, just small saplings.  all the aroma and flavor came from the root.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 30, 2014)

Don't think that is sassafras. Black locust? I've had only a very little BL but it looked like that. The bark just looks too thick for sassy.

I thought I had some pictures but sadly I could not find them. One other thing is the weight. Sassy will be much lighter that BL.


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Don't think that is sassafras. Black locust? I've had only a very little BL but it looked like that. The bark just looks too thick for sassy.
> 
> I thought I had some pictures but sadly I could not find them. One other thing is the weight. Sassy will be much lighter that BL.


Some of those pieces were quite heavy. It took 2 of us to load them in my buddy's truck....What is the seasoning time for Black Locust? Think it will be ready for next winter??


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 30, 2014)

I believe it is 2 years for BL. The heavy you speak of really does point more to BL than Sassy. Enjoy it! 

One more thing is when it is burned, the BL tends to smell bad. Some say if you dry it a couple years the bark comes off fairly easy and this would be a help as you could put more wood in rather than bark and this would help getting a long fire for those cold winter nights.


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Backwoods Savage said:


> I believe it is 2 years for BL. The heavy you speak of really does point more to BL than Sassy. Enjoy it!
> 
> One more thing is when it is burned, the BL tends to smell bad. Some say if you dry it a couple years the bark comes off fairly easy and this would be a help as you could put more wood in rather than bark and this would help getting a long fire for those cold winter nights.


Got at least 2 healthy face cords of it with a friend. At least now I won't split it into kindling..Lol


----------



## Osagebndr (Mar 30, 2014)

If that's fresh I think it's sassy. Bl is green when its fresh cut and the sassy here has the exact same bark as what you have. Being its a little knotty it may be a little harder to split also


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 30, 2014)

Good point on the green but it just doesn't look like sassafras. But as I've stated more than once, it is very difficult to ID from pictures. They can be very deceiving.


----------



## Osagebndr (Mar 30, 2014)

You bet , pics can throw a guy off. They both burn good when dry too


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Osagebndr said:


> You bet , pics can throw a guy off. They both burn good when dry too


The problem is..One is for kindling and the other for all nighters


----------



## Osagebndr (Mar 30, 2014)

Rite on. I might get a little ribbing bout this , but I believe dryBL can out coal oak and hickory. Try not to burn it too much as it can melt a stove down


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 30, 2014)

Osage, I highly doubt anyone would rib you about this. I've seen too many claims of that on this forum so many will agree with you.


----------



## Osagebndr (Mar 30, 2014)

Cool . I'm a red oak man personally tho. Only wood hotter than BL is hedge apple I use that for stave wood


----------



## tsquini (Mar 30, 2014)

The bark looks like black locust. Where there any thorns on it? As you experienced, chopping it can be a chore. It is easier to split green than dry. Some of my locust has taken up to 3 years to season. It's a nice wood to burn.


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

tsquini said:


> The bark looks like black locust. Where there any thorns on it? As you experienced, chopping it can be a chore. It is easier to split green than dry. Some of my locust has taken up to 3 years to season. It's a nice wood to burn.


No thorns on it. Very difficult to split by hand. Thanks


----------



## Paulywalnut (Mar 30, 2014)

That last big piece with the deep furrows has the tell tale ash pin hole in the middle. Looking closely, it looks like ash.
Without a rootbeer smell when cutting or splitting it's not sassafras.


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Paulywalnut said:


> That last big piece with the deep furrows has the tell tale ash pin hole in the middle. Looking closely, it looks like ash.
> Without a rootbeer smell when cutting or splitting it's not sassafras.


Iv'e split alot of Ash by hand. That's the toughest Ash I have ever split


----------



## Paulywalnut (Mar 30, 2014)

NordicSplitter said:


> Iv'e split alot of Ash by hand. That's the toughest Ash I have ever split


Probably not ash then, although I have had some tough ash when it's green.


----------



## Clyde S. Dale (Mar 30, 2014)

I'm say in' sassafras because of the 4th pic. The exposed bark has orange in it. Tell tale sign for me.


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

Clyde S. Dale said:


> I'm say in' sassafras because of the 4th pic. The exposed bark has orange in it. Tell tale sign for me.


Why is it so hard to split? Tough stuff. I thought Sassafras was easy to split?


----------



## gzecc (Mar 30, 2014)

Not BL. Could be Sassafras. See pics attached.
http://farmerrachel.hubpages.com/hub/Five-Types-of-Hardwood-for-Firewood


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

gzecc said:


> Not BL. Could be Sassafras. See pics attached.
> http://farmerrachel.hubpages.com/hub/Five-Types-of-Hardwood-for-Firewood


Based on that article, Sassafras is classified as a Hardwood. Do you think it would be best used as kindling or for regular burning? Thanks


----------



## jatoxico (Mar 30, 2014)

Not like the BL I get around here. Maybe Honey Locust, I have no experience w/ that stuff. To me heart wood of sass is more yellow/green not brown/orange like the pics shown.


----------



## gzecc (Mar 30, 2014)

NordicSplitter said:


> Based on that article, Sassafras is classified as a Hardwood. Do you think it would be best used as kindling or for regular burning? Thanks


 
Kindling, shoulder season or mix with your primary higher quality hardwoods. Its a lower BTU rated hardwood.


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Mar 30, 2014)

Bark kind of looks like Sassy but that one picture of the grain shows almost pure white grain, not orangish-brown like Sass has. I don't know what it is....


----------



## nrford (Mar 30, 2014)

Looks like Cottonwood to me!


----------



## NordicSplitter (Mar 30, 2014)

nrford said:


> Looks like Cottonwood to me!


The base of the tree was too big for me to wrap my arms around. Awfully big cottonwood. That would explain the difficulty in splitting it.


----------



## nrford (Mar 30, 2014)

NordicSplitter said:


> The base of the tree was too big for me to wrap my arms around. Awfully big cottonwood. That would explain the difficulty in splitting it.


I have seen cottonwood 5' DBH. never have I seen a Sass over about 24"DBH, not saying it is not possible for Sass to get large, but I have seen lots of large Cottonwood. Besides it looks like every cottonwood I've ever sawn or seen sawn.


----------



## PA. Woodsman (Mar 30, 2014)

nrford said:


> Looks like Cottonwood to me!


 

That thought crossed my mind too....


----------



## Hickorynut (Mar 30, 2014)

I agree with the cottonwood, I have lived on three acres for 20 years with lots of black locust and sassafras and your wood is not either of those.


----------



## Ralphie Boy (Mar 31, 2014)

You should see some of the cottonwoods growing along my creek bottom land. Giants they are. Yeah, they get big, really big.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 31, 2014)

Paulywalnut said:


> That last big piece with the deep furrows has the tell tale ash pin hole in the middle. Looking closely, it looks like ash.
> Without a rootbeer smell when cutting or splitting it's not sassafras.



There is no way that is an ash.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 31, 2014)

NordicSplitter said:


> Based on that article, Sassafras is classified as a Hardwood. Do you think it would be best used as kindling or for regular burning? Thanks



Not regarding that article at all, but any tree that will drop its leaf is technically a hardwood.


----------



## Paulywalnut (Mar 31, 2014)

Backwoods Savage said:


> There is no way that is an ash.


Yikes! I believe you Dennis. You're the ash guru.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Mar 31, 2014)

This beast is a cottonwood. And I agree, what you have could possibly be cottonwood. If so, it will be super heavy when cut and super light in a year.


----------



## Woody Stover (Apr 1, 2014)

Doug MacIVER said:


> does it smell like root beer?





NordicSplitter said:


> Hard to tell......


The smell of Sass would be unmistakeable, like Hall's Mentho-Lyptus cough drops...._easy_ to tell. 


Backwoods Savage said:


> Black locust? I've had only a very little BL


I guess so.   Hey, I have my share of misses too. 


nrford said:


> Looks like Cottonwood to me!


I've not cut it, but based on other posts that is the bark....


----------



## JoeyD (Apr 1, 2014)

I've seen chestnut oak with bark like that but the grain in that one split does not look like oak. Here is a link.

http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/qupr2.htm


----------



## BobUrban (Apr 1, 2014)

I am on board w Cotton wood based on bark and size but I have never cut any so take that w a grain o salt.  Sass would definitely smell good and you can always taste it  seriously.  Sass will taste minty and good - cotton wood will likely be bitter or almost tasteless.


----------



## Woody Stover (Apr 1, 2014)

BobUrban said:


> I am on board w Cotton wood based on bark and size but I have never cut any so take that w a grain o salt.


Yep, I've seen the bark but it never goes any further than that.


----------



## gzecc (Apr 1, 2014)

Never saw cottonwood. Is it in your area?


----------



## bigbarf48 (Apr 1, 2014)

I think thats definitely cottonwood

Theres some BIG cottonwoods around here


----------



## Kool_hand_Looke (Apr 1, 2014)

Sassafras has like a cork in the heartwood.


----------



## Wood Duck (Apr 1, 2014)

I think it is Cottonwood. It is not Black Locust, Honey Locust, or Chestnut Oak. I don't think Sassafras either.


----------



## weatherguy (Apr 2, 2014)

Unfortunately you have cottonwood and not BL or any other hardwood for that matter. I burn pine so I'd burn the cottonwood if I got it free.


----------

