Osmose Tree??? Well, it's Yellow Wood...

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Here's a few pictures of a small tree that a guy felled because it was in the way of felling a large pine that died from lightning strike... The tree has been down about two weeks.



The stump and butt log (about 8" diameter)




Closeup of end of butt log. Color has faded from bright yellow to brownish yellow in last week.



Closeup of bark. Bark is thin and reminds me of leather.




Closeup of leaves. Most have died and turned brown since the tree was cut.




This seems be the same kind of tree, just a few feet from the location of the one that's been felled.

So, what kind of tree is this?

[WDH]

My first inclination is that it is a bay, probably red bay (Persia borbonia).  If, the leaves will have some rusty red hairs on the underside of the leaf.  If not red bay, maybe some other type of bay.  There are several down that way that I am not personally familiar with. 

Could possibly be in the magnolia family, but the mosy likely one, sweet bay is very distinctly silver colored on the leaf underside and I did not see that in the pic.  One way to check for the magnolia family is to look where the leak stalk (petiole) attaches to the stem.  The magnolias have a noticeable circle around the stem where the bud is at the base of the petiole.  This actually is a scar caused by a stipule (which is associated with leaf formation in the bud), and in the magnolia family species, including yellow poplar, this stipular scar completely encircles the twig.

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

I'll try to get by there again today and take closer look/photos of leaves, etc...

[Texas Ranger]

Cherry laurel?

[scgargoyle]

There's a tree around here called carrotwood, but I didn't think it grew as far north as Panama City. Not sure if that's it; I've never really studied one.

[WDH]

TR,

It could be cherry laurel (or laurel cherry as I learned it, but of course I am not from Missouri ;D).  Leaves seem a little big for that, but as you know, things are bigger in Florida (or is that Texas???  All this travel has me confused :D). 

I am not familiar with carrotwood, Scgargoyle. 

[scgargoyle]

Carrotwood (cupaniopsis anacardioides) is supposedly only found from Tampa/ St Pete and south. I couldn't find a reference as to what color the wood is, though.

[Dodgy Loner]

Although the picture is a bit unclear, it sure looks to me that the leaves are opposite, which would rule out redbay, magnolia, and laurel-cherry right of the bat.  Moreover, a redbay or laurel-cherry of that size would probably have reddish heartwood.

If the leaves ARE opposite, I would strongly suspect that what you've got is a devilwood (aka American osmanthus, Osmanthus americanus).  The green new growth, simple, elliptical leaves, and the relatively smooth, grey bark would all support that.  Could you confirm that the leaf arrangement is opposite? 

One problem with identifying species (especially the small trees) from middle and south FL is that you've got a lot of species down there that those of us from farther north aren't particularly familiar with.

BTW, hi WDH, I wasn't too surprised when I found you at this forum!

[WDH]

OK, Dodgy Loner, you have to come clean!  If you are who I think you are, then you are sneaky .

You are absolutely right about the opposite leaf arrangement.  On close observation of the pic, it sure does look opposite.

On your avatar (your personal pic when you post) is that in Brazil?  If so, your identity has been busted :D.

[WDH]

OK.  The identity of Dodgy Loner is no longer a mystery.  His cover has been blown.  He happens to be one of the youngest, brightest, tree-huntingist, tree-craziest, dendrology minded people on the planet.  A person with a real affliction (takes one to know one ;D).  He will be a huge asset to this forum.  He knows his stuff and then some ;).

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Although the picture is a bit unclear, it sure looks to me that the leaves are opposite, which would rule out redbay, magnolia, and laurel-cherry right of the bat.  Moreover, a redbay or laurel-cherry of that size would probably have reddish heartwood.

If the leaves ARE opposite, I would strongly suspect that what you've got is a devilwood (aka American osmanthus, Osmanthus americanus).  The green new growth, simple, elliptical leaves, and the relatively smooth, grey bark would all support that.  Could you confirm that the leaf arrangement is opposite? 

One problem with identifying species (especially the small trees) from middle and south FL is that you've got a lot of species down there that those of us from farther north aren't particularly familiar with.

BTW, hi WDH, I wasn't too surprised when I found you at this forum!

I haven't had a chance to get back there but hope to do so this weekend. I'll try to get better photos at that time. There are at least two more trees that appear to be the same at this location.

Please explain the term opposite in relation to leaf arrangement...

Thanks for the information.

[Dodgy Loner]

Well WDH, you figured out who I am--and I should be pretty good at tree ID, since you helped teach me! :D  You're right, that is a tree from Brazil (just an hour from Rio de Janeiro) in my profile pic.  It's a jequitiba-rosa, 17 feet in DBH, 165 feet tall, assumed to be at least 1000 years old.

In case you're wondering, I came up with the name "Dodgy Loner" because it's an acronym for "Dendrology".  It's in no way a reflection of my personality. ;D

Urban Sawyer, regarding the term "opposite arrangement", that means that at every spot on a branch where you find one leaf, there is another leaf on the opposite side of the twig.  Most trees have an alternate leaf arrangement, meaning that at each point on the twig where you find one leaf, there will only be that one leaf.

[WDH]

In terms of leaf arrangement, the vast majority of tree species have the alternate arrangement, that is, the leaves sprout off the twig in an alternating pattern.  In North American hardwoods, the opposite arrangement (where leaves come off in pairs opposite each other) is much less common.  A few notable species that have the opposite pattern are ash, maple, dogwood, etc., but there are relatively few.  So if the leaf arrangement is opposite, that rules out about 90% of the potential candidates and really narrows down the field.