ID this knarly stuff...

[wb11]

Based on the thickness & pattern of the bark along with the pics of the splits I'm guessing Cottonwood. I split some wood just like what you have last spring (looked exactly like your pics) - not 100% sure it was Cottonwood but from my research Cottonwood seemed like the closest match to what I had. Anyway it was pretty wet & slightly heavy when cut but dried very fast & ended-up being extremly light........burned very fast too.

One other indcator.....when freshly split does it smell a bit like Horse or Cat urine?? If it does I'd say Cottonwood for sure.

 

[webby3650]

Based on the thickness & pattern of the bark along with the pics of the splits I'm guessing Cottonwood. I split some wood just like what you have last spring (looked exactly like your pics) - not 100% sure it was Cottonwood but from my research Cottonwood seemed like the closest match to what I had. Anyway it was pretty wet & slightly heavy when cut but dried very fast & ended-up being extremly light........burned very fast too.

One other indcator.....when freshly split does it smell a bit like Horse or Cat urine?? If it does I'd say Cottonwood for sure.

This wood is laced with steel, it tears unlike any Elm I have ever split. It doesn't match Cottonwood, it has a very nutty smell, for lack of a better word. I will go to the site were I cut mine this week to get a leaf from a living tree. This will reveal the secret of the mystery wood. ;-)