# What Wood Smells Like Wintergreen Canada Mints When Split?



## velvetfoot (Jun 14, 2007)

It was somewhat stringy.
(Note:  I'm totally lame at id'ing wood).


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## Eric Johnson (Jun 14, 2007)

It's probably yellow birch, velvetfoot. There's a lot of YB growing in the Northeast. The bark burns like nobody's business, but the wood needs to be dried for about 2 years before it will burn right.

The bark is pretty hard to miss. IMO, one of the most beautiful trees in the northwoods. The sapwood is white, tough and stringy. The heartwood is either dark chocolate brown or purple, depending on the age. The cambium can be bright orange.


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## jpl1nh (Jun 14, 2007)

It's most likely either black birch or yellow birch, both of which have a lot of oil of wintergreen in them.  Black birch has greyish-black bark, yellow birch has a shiny, kind of peely yellowish bark.  Both are quite prevelant here in NH.  Where do you live?


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## velvetfoot (Jun 14, 2007)

I'm near Albany, NY.
Thanks guys.  Next piece I come across I'll take a picture.


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## jpl1nh (Jun 14, 2007)

And by the way, both yellow and black birch are excellent firewood.


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## Metal (Jun 14, 2007)

I doubt you have a leaf from the tree, but here is a neat site that helps you identify trees by their leaves (see link).

http://forestry.about.com/library/treekey/bltree_key_id_start.htm


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## Eric Johnson (Jun 15, 2007)

The pic isn't great, but here's some yellow birch growing up near Corinth. The tree on the right has some kind of bark disease, but the one on the left is a classic YB stem around these parts. One of the prettiest trees in the woods.


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## Eric Johnson (Jun 15, 2007)

Here's a couple more shots taken in the west central Adirondacks where I cut my firewood. The blocked wood in the foreground of the first pic is beech. Beech is considered an undesirable species in a woodlot like this, so it's good to remove it and make room for more valuable species like yellow birch and hard maple. But fortunately, it makes great firewood.


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## Eric Johnson (Jun 15, 2007)

A winter shot.


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## PA. Woodsman (Jun 15, 2007)

I'd say that it probably is Black Birch, or "Cherry Birch" as it is called here in Eastern Pennyslvania. Darn good firewood, nice Wintergreen smell to it. Very heavy when green and still heavy when dry. Ignites easily, burns with a nice, lively flame and throws good heat.


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## fishercat (Jun 15, 2007)

I would say its Yellow Birch. Eric thats some nice looking ridges you have. In New Brunswick we had lots of those ridges at one time but alot of them are now cut. A litttle comment on Beech in HWD management they are not wanted around here because most of them have a bark disease so they are cut. But if you look at the tree as a food source for animals the beech nuts are eaten by Deer, Bear and alot of other animals so I try to get the companys to leave them where possible if I can find some clear ones. And you are right the tree makes some nice firewood.


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## Eric Johnson (Jun 15, 2007)

There's plenty of beech on that property. It's 525 acres and parts are pretty heavy to beech, including where I'm cutting. I've probably thinned out about 12 or 15 acres over the past few years. The yellow birch has the best potential on that site and we have some nice growing stock, but it's tough to get it to come into the understory. I think you need to scarify the soil, which I don't do with a chain saw and pickup truck, so it's all coming back to beech. A dozer would be nice. The hard maple is marginal in this stand, but there's a fair amount of it, so I'm trying to encourage it to come back as well. There's a little bit of black cherry, but the deer seem to get most of it before it has much chance to grow. On one end of the property, there's some nice ash, but probably not for long.

I think beech is a beautiful tree, and you're right about the mast for wildlife. I wish the market was better for beech sawtimber. It makes nice flooring, among other things.

Here's what a black bear can do to a nice beech log:


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## jpl1nh (Jun 15, 2007)

Eric Johnson said:
			
		

> The pic isn't great, but here's some yellow birch growing up near Corinth. The tree on the right has some kind of bark disease, but the one on the left is a classic YB stem around these parts. One of the prettiest trees in the woods.


  Eric, I agree, yellow birch is one of the prettiest trees in the woods.


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## DiscoInferno (Jun 15, 2007)

Our property in MI is pretty much all yellow birch, beech, and sugar maple.  I agree the YB is my favorite of the three, but the maple and beech seem to be much better at reproducing, as Eric mentions.  The maple might be worth more if logged, but I prefer the other two for looks.  They all burn about the same.
The mice clearly prefer beech - when we got up there last winter, they had stored beech nuts all over the house, including a couple piles under the covers in the bed.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 15, 2007)

Here is a piece I split yesterday.
Is this yellow birch?
The bark is pretty dark.  Was it sick like the one on the right above?
The middle seemed somewhat pulpy.


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## Eric Johnson (Jun 15, 2007)

That's either yellow birch or black birch. The thick bark and dark heartwood are the visual tipoffs. Sometimes the bark on a yellow birch can look like that. I'm not sure why, but it doesn't seem to affect the wood.

As I said earlier, that stuff will take longer to dry out than beech or maple, so you want to try to burn it last or wait an extra year.

As for smell, nothing smells better, in my book, than yellow birch burning. It smells like incense. Put a match to a piece of that bark and you'll see what I'm talking about.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 15, 2007)

Thanks.  I don't know how I'll be able to segregate it, but it'll be a while before I get to burning this wood anyway.


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## PA. Woodsman (Jun 16, 2007)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> Here is a piece I split yesterday.
> Is this yellow birch?
> The bark is pretty dark.  Was it sick like the one on the right above?
> The middle seemed somewhat pulpy.



After seeing the picture, it's Black Birch; no doubt in my mind at all about it. Seen it many times. Very good wood.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 17, 2007)

Thanks again.


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