Tree Identification Puzzle

[j44ke]

That is interesting. I always wondered what Butternut looked like before it found its way into the handle of an American fishing rod.

I had an HL Leonard rod. I never knew the handle was butternut. I never fished with it. Too afraid of snagging a fly and breaking a tip. So I donated it to a non-profit that teaches breast cancer survivors how to fly-fish as part of their PT and psychological recovery. For their annual auction fund-raiser. Worked out pretty well for them!

[bcm119]

Butternut is another disappearing species, I think it's a fungus. We had one in our yard in Dutchess county, and it was always losing limbs in wind and ice storms. It finally bit the dust in the late 90s. Not the most durable trees. You'd probably know it if you had one from the nuts on the ground, they're pretty big and more elongated than black walnuts. Very resiny and sticky when green.

[Paul Jacobs]

I had an HL Leonard rod. I never knew the handle was butternut. I never fished with it. Too afraid of snagging a fly and breaking a tip. So I donated it to a non-profit that teaches breast cancer survivors how to fly-fish as part of their PT and psychological recovery. For their annual auction fund-raiser. Worked out pretty well for them!

Leonard tended to use Butternut and Payne used Red Cedar for wooden reel seats. Both are quite low density woods for hardwoods, which I imagine is why they chose them. That is a 1920 Leonard which I bought cheaply because it needs a bit of restoration. One of the two tips is short (broken) and the ferrule on the unbroken tip is loose and some of the guides are missing. There are just about enough parts to put it back together as a one tip rod. It is one of many projects I hope to get around to one day. Yours was a very generous donation.

[j44ke]

I forgot the answers!

The two trees here are:

Number 4 is a black ash (corky bark with ash pattern next to small creek)

and

Number 5 is an old apple tree, leftover from when the land was farmed and they had a small stand of apple trees here.

[j44ke]

I think we could have a thread just about this.

So this huge old cherry needs some relief. It is already dying but I'd like to prolong it a bit so it can be homes for woodpeckers and others. It isn't in a risky location. If it goes down, it will do it alone. And if a big hunk of it comes down, my buddy with a chainsaw will come cut the rest. More important to the health of the forest, the vine on this tree is the central root for vine tendrils wrapped around other trees about 50-75' out from here. So if I can start the process at the center, the outlying areas will be easier. I want to cut from the red tape down to drain the vine and lighten the load on the tree. If I can break loose the small maple that is also being strangled by the vine, that will be a bonus. I doubt I can.



Okay so everything from the ground up is removed. The main root for the vine is behind the tree. I'll go after that a bit later as it will require cutting and some digging. I didn't make it up to the red flag, and I didn't even try to free the small maple. The photo after this one will show why.



I think cutting vines off trees can be just about as dangerous as cutting the tree down. You are removing a certain amount of weight hanging off the tree, but you are also removing support. You can see this when you cut the vine and the saw kind of binds in the cut near the end. Those vines are under tension. So I work out my escape routes, watch the tree, cut, stand back, look, listen. One "arm" of the vine went through the crotch of this tree, and it looked like it was just draped there. However, when I finally cut it free, I realized that it had actually grown into the cherry like a piece of old fence. And that made me think that the maple + vine knot might actually be functioning as a crutch and supporting the left section of the cherry. So I stopped. Cherries can look like heck and stand up for years, but then again, there's rot and this hole and....

[ides1056]

you have your work cut out for you, no pun intended

I would cut the lot down, make firewood of the cherry and call it good.

[j44ke]

Yeah, I think you're right.

Might actually take itself down when this cold front comes through.

[Mabouya]

Give it a chance and see what happens.

If it survives, great, so much the better.

If it comes down, so be it.