Firewood Identification

Bark:

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Smooth gray to brown bark when young becoming fissured with long, flat-topped ridges; vertical fissures often unbroken and long; fibrous.

Diffuse-porous: growth rings are identified by a thin band of cells; heartwood is creamy white to light-colored brown, sometimes reddish.

Basswood is less dense compared to other wood and emits a musty or rancid odor when freshly cut. Firewood cut from mature trees exhibit fibrous, vertically-fissured bark that stands apart from other hardwoods. Wood is easily dented with thumbnail. Young trees and upper branches often confused with maple.

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Gray or tan bark; corky warts on young trees develop into irregular, corky ridges.

Ring-porous: “tire tracks” or wavy pore arrangement are visible in summerwood; yellow-tinted or greenish-grey heartwood.

When sorting through a weathered pile of wood, hackberry can be identified by a prominent yellow wood when compared to other hardwoods. Confirm its identity by the presence of corky warts or make a clean cut on the endgrain to reveal the wavy summerwood arrangement.

Bark:

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Bronze- to red- colored, smooth bark with prominent lenticels when young; characteristic white-, salmon-, or grey- colored, papery and peeling bark developing with age.

Diffuse-porous: growth rings are non-conspicuous; heartwood is light brown to dark reddish-brown.

Look for the papery bark! Even if wood is weathered the papery bark is a key identifier for these species. Sweet birch often stands apart from other birches found in the Upper Midwest. Juvenile Sweet birch often has silvery to black bark breaking up into scaly plates with age.

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Green and White Ash: young bark often smooth or flaky becoming furrowed with
diamond-shaped, interlacing ridges.

Black Ash: smooth becoming scaly and flaky (rather then deeply furrowed).

Ring-porous: light-colored creamy sapwood with to grayish-brown to dark brown colored heartwood; sometimes streaked with yellow; distinct growth rings with large pores in springwood.

The mature bark of Green and White ash have easily identifiable diamond-shaped bark. Often confused with oak, however, large rays are not visible in cross-section to the unaided eye in ash wood. 

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Tan to gray colored bark with orange-colored troughs developing spongy, domed ridges.

Diffuse-porous: white-colored sapwood; no distinguishable taste or smell; annual growth rings visible to the unaided eye.

Boxelder wood is found to be streaked with red stains caused by the fungus Fusarium spp.

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Shiny, smooth gray bark identifiable by numerous bold, horizontal lenticels; becomes dark grey and scaly; yellow-colored inner bark.

Semi-ring porous

Buckthorn can surprisingly find its way into your woodpile as it can grow up to 5” diameter. Often confused with young, native Prunus (cherry) species.

Bark:

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Smooth and light grey developing long, vertical ridges, often deeply furrowed; sometimes flaky.

Left: Mature Norway maple bark
Right: Mature sugar maple bark

Diffuse-porous: thick layers of light-colored sapwood; narrow, uniformly spaced rays; distinct growth rings.

The maples vary widely in their bark characteristics. From the scaly, often curly, bark of the silver maple to the shallow, fissured bark of the Norway maple, there exists variation among and within species. Look for thick, light colored sapwood and indistinguishable annual growth rings.

Left: Juvenile maple bark
Right: Mature silver maple bark

Bark:

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Greenish-gray and white colored bark developing dark blotches or excrescences; mature trees often form dark grey, furrowed bark with grey-white smooth bark on the upper trunk and branches.

Diffuse-porous (sometimes semi-ring porous): no visible rays, pores or apparent growth rings, light colored sapwood and heartwood.

Depending upon what portion of the tree the firewood is from, the poplar group can have very different bark characteristics. Young trees, upper trunk and branches are most often smooth, grey-green and sometimes chalky.  The wood weighs very little. Old sections of tree have furrowed bark.

Bark:

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Young trees have corky, gray and scaling bark with irregular ridges; vertically ridged on large trees. Mature bark ranges from gray and platy to deeply ridged and furrowed.

Ring-porous: distinct growth rings with large, clogged pores; large visible rays; grayish-yellow colored heartwood.

It is important to distinguish between red and white oak groups due to how they respond differently to Oak Wilt. Three distinguishing features should be noted: 1) white oaks often have thicker corky bark, 2) white oaks have a grayish-yellow colored heartwood and 3) the clogged pores of the white oak can be viewed with the naked eye.

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Flat, gray, and smooth bark becoming ridged and furrowed; reddish to yellowish inner bark.

Ring-porous: distinct growth rings with large, unclogged pores; large visible rays; reddish- colored heartwood.

Reds oaks can be distinguished from white oaks by its thinner bark (smooth when young), red colored heartwood and large, visible unclogged pores.

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Deep furrows accompanied by scaly ridges; fibrous; yellowish brown to black.

Diffuse-porouse (sometimes semi-ring porous): grey to pinkish brown heartwood; no rays visible to naked eye.

Bark:

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Platy or shredding bark with loose scales; fibrous ridges may spiral around trunk.

Diffuse-porous: heartwood is yellowish to light brown; white colored sapwood; rays not visible to the naked eye; dense growth rings.

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Brownish-red colored, fibrous bark with shallow fissures; ridges often spiral around trunk.

White sapwood with light brown heartwood.

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Reddish-orange to gray-brown, flaky scales and ridges; mature trees often shallowly furrowed.

Growth rings are often indistinct; larger cream colored rays sometimes visible against heartwood; white sapwood with cream- to moderately reddish-brown heartwood.  

Pine firewood has a distinct pleasant odor with resinous sap often exuding from pores on freshly cut wood.

Bark:

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Thin flaky scales; reddish-brown to gray.

Cream-colored rays barely visible to naked eye; growth rings composed of lighter colored spring wood coupled with darker colored, reddish  latewood; sapwood and heartwood are indistinguishable from one another.

Spruce, like most conifers, is relatively light in color and weight.
Notice resin canals visible in cross-section.

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Smooth bark with horizontal lenticels breaking up into curling, platy bark; often deeply furrowed; sometimes adorned with large sharp thorns.

Ring-porous: yellow colored sapwood; reddish brown heartwood

Honeylocust is a very dense, heavy wood common in the urban landscape (stands in forests uncommon). Thornless and thorny varieties exist.

Bark:

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Fibrous bark with thick interlacing ridges; reddish brown to black.

Ring-porous: yellowish sapwood with greenish- to yellowish- brown heartwood; thin rays often visible to the unaided eye.

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Young trees have smooth brown or reddish bark with horizontal lenticels; mature trees develop scaly upturned plates.  

Semi-ring porous: distinct, thin, white rays against reddish- or cinnamon- colored heartwood; sapwood is white to light brown.

Black cherry is a moderately heavy wood.  Look for distinct “burnt potato chip” bark on mature trees.

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Bluish- gray smooth bark; wavy sinuous ridges- hence the common name "musclewood."

Diffuse-porous: sapwood thick and white; heartwood yellow to pale white with brown undertones; rays indistinct to the naked eye.

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Corky, deeply-furrowed bark develops on older trees; on American and rock elm outer bark has alternating light and dark tissues giving the appearance of “bacon strips".

Ring-porous: wavy bands or “tire tracks” are visible on summerwood; sapwood white to tan colored; heartwood brown to reddish brown.

Bark:

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Dark brown to black; deeply, narrowly furrowed; rough diamond-shaped ridges often distinguishable.

Semi-ring porous: pores diffused throughout wood; deep chocolate-colored heartwood; sapwood light brown- to yellow; no visible rays.

Black walnut has a distinct odor when freshly cut. Beautiful chocolate-colored heartwood used for veneer and furn