Thought cypress, but not sure anymore

[Pepe_Silvia]

I was sure this was cypress when I picked it up.  Based on the weight of it, I'm having doubts though.  Hopefully it is, since I made a gate out of it.  

Here are the pictures.

 

 

 

 

[WDH]

It is elm.  See the wavy bands in the latewood?

[KEC]

Looks at least somewhat like Hackberry.

[WDH]

Yes, could be as hackberry is in the elm family and also has the wavy bands of pores in the latewood.  Bark was hard to make out, but it is surely elm or hackberry. 

[Magicman]

 

 



Hackberry.  ;D

[WDH]

Our hackberry has smoother, knobbier bark than what is pictured, but I am leaning more to hackberry too.  It certainly is not cypress.

[Pepe_Silvia]

Well shoot.  My guess was based on the shape of the trunk and the bark, so obviously I need to step my ID game up.  I did get a whiff of that elm smell when I was building the gate, but it really didn't click.

It is elm.  See the wavy bands in the latewood?

I see what you're talking about.  That is mostly unique to elms?


If it's a hackberry it's not like any I've seen.  They grow prolifically around here and we get the really distinct knobby and smooth bark as well.  I've never seen a distinct heartwood in the dozen or so of various sizes that I've milled.

Yes, could be as hackberry is in the elm family and also has the wavy bands of pores in the latewood.

It got kicked out didn't it?  


Is there a good way to narrow down to what kind of elm at this point, or has that ship sailed with the leaves and branches?  There's mostly American Elm and Cedar Elm around, with an occasional Lacebark.  The bark is wrong for lacebark and American, I would buy that it's a Cedar Elm though.  I've just never cut one small enough to have that little heartwood.

What does this mean for its life as a gate?  Shortlived?

[WDH]

It could be hackberry, especially with that chocolate brown heartwood.  Does not matter, elm or hackberry, they are kissin' cousins.  If your hackberry typically has the smoother bark with the knobby protrusions, it might be cedar elm, ulmus crassifolia. 

Virginia Tech Dendrology Fact Sheet

[LeeB]

Looks like cedar elm to me. 

[btulloh]

What does this mean for its life as a gate?  Shortlived?

Put some kind of preservative on it like deck treatment or similar when the MC gets down to 20%.  

[Magicman]

A bark picture would have been helpful.  :

[Pepe_Silvia]

A bark picture would have been helpful.  :

I included the one of it sitting on the trailer because that was the best I had.

Here is another but I don't think it's very telling.


 

[Magicman]

To me that picture shows much more Elm than Hackberry.

[WDH]

I agree. 

[kantuckid]

I say elm too. Some folks call that one "pith elm" based on the smell of the wood. Not hackberry nor cypress!

The puter doesn't allow my nick name for this elm which refers to urine and spelled with two ss's.

[WDH]

In Northeast Texas, they referred to that tree with two words like you say, but the last word was ellum.