Any idea? Western PA

[CabinCreations]

Hello!

Any thoughts on this tree species in Western Pennsylvania? The bark looked like maple to me, but the berries (I'm not sure if that's what they should be called?) threw me off. 

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!





- Kody

[Texas Ranger]

Berries look more like insect gauls

[Southside]

Shagbark Hickory?

[CabinCreations]

The "berries" seemed to be too regularly located to be insect galls, but possibly. They were all over the tree and formed only at the tips of small branches.

I thought about shagbark hickory also but just couldn't confirm it. The wood was very white and didn't fight me at all when bucking with the chainsaw. 

[wisconsitom]

Bark does look like that of silver maple, but it ain't that.  Maples have opposing leaf arrangement and this tree features alternating.  Can we see more twig details, buds, etc?

[CabinCreations]

Unfortunately, this is the last photo I have of the tree but I don't think it is very helpful. I wish I would have grabbed more pictures, but I really thought the bark and "berries" would ID it. 

I went to pick up some cherry logs and the neighbor to the home I went to had a large branch from this tree fall and so he asked me if I wanted it. I figured it was free firewood so I took it!

[KEC]

Red Maple. Those "berries" are, in fact, winter buds. Deer love those buds in the winter.

[WDH]

Looks opposite branched to me.  Pretty sure that it is silver maple. 

[CabinCreations]

Ah, yes - buds not berries! That makes much more sense, I guess I just wasn't expecting buds this time of year. 

I would agree with maple then - but how do I determine red vs silver maple? 

Thanks for the input guys!

[wisconsitom]

Yup, on second look, opposite branching after all.  Silver maple and red maple are closely related, such that hybrids between the two can be found.  The name for this entity is "Freeman maple".  But the specimen in this thread looks more or less normal silver maple to me.

[WDH]

Bark of red maple and silver maple can be very similar, but older silver maple's tend to have scalier bark like the one in the pic.  Leaves are different.  The soft maples have leaves with teeth between the lobes on the leaf margins while the hard maples have leaves that are not toothed between the lobes on the leaf margin.

Red maples have three-lobed leaves while silver maple normally has five.

[kantuckid]

In some towns those soft maples are illegal given they play havoc with sewer lines.

[Ron Scott]

Yes, to Silver Maple.

[CabinCreations]

I'll go with Silver Maple then! Thanks everyone for the help - I learned a few things from your input.  8)