Trees I saw in FL

[Radar67]

I just pulled up your gallery and saw the sweetgum and the sycymore. They look nice.

Stew

[billbobtlh]

Trunk of first one looks like a bay laurel.
Second is a monkey puzzle or some such. It is related to the norfolk pines.
The third is used for hedges and cannot remember what it is called.

[sprucebunny]

Here is a picture showing my captive Norfolk Island Pine and a leave/needle from the tree in Florida

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like an over grown princess pine club moss ;)

http://nefern.info/picpages/lycobs2x.htm

[Patty]

In Germany we saw what I  thought were Norfolk pines growing up on the mountain sides near Schloss Neuschwarstein castle. They were like giant replicas of the one in my office. Could they also be native to southern Germany?

[Phorester]

There was another discussion somewhere on this Board about hackberry/sugarberry.  Hackberry is a common tree in my area.  It was used decades ago for small furniture parts.  I don't know how it is in long lengths as far as warp or twist, etc.  A heavy, white wood for the most part.

Also makes a good yard tree here.

[Phorester]

After some research, I don't think the second one is monkey puzzle, but can't hazard a guess as to what it is myself.

PATTY, the tree on the German mountainsides was probably not norfolk island pine.  They are a semitropical tree and need those year-round lush warm and humid growing conditions to survive outdoors all the time.  These are native to Australia and (of course!)  Norfolk island east of Australia. 

[metalspinner]

I just used a little bit of Hackbery in my kitchen for drawer parts.  The boards I had were 8" wide and guess what - the drawers I needed to build were 8" wide.  : :D  The wood fuzzed up a little when machining and had a greenish/yellowish tinge to it, but it sanded out just fine.  The figure was similar to elm and had a shimmer to it.  The sawyer that milled it said it needed to go in the kiln immediately to keep the white color.  At the time the kiln was full, so I stacked it out side.  It did lose its brightness and began the grey discoloration Woodbowl mentioned.  My sawyer mentioned this was because of the sugar and starch in the wood.  Just like an apple turns brown after a bite  and you let it sit.

It seems to be a good utilaritarian wood.  Around the knots, the wood misbehaved.  Selective cutting before drying would have solved that .  The tree grows huge and there are plenty of them.  My sawyer loves to burn it.  He said it burns really nice even semi-dry. ???

And it is a beautiful yard tree.  The roots stay underground so they aren't in the way of the mower.  The leaves look alot like cherry and it has little berries on it.  In fact, because of this, I've been led on several wild goose chases thinking I  was picking up a huge cherry tree.  The home owners didn't want to hear that their "cherry" tree was really a hackberry and had no value. :