What happened to this tree?

[cutterboy]

Hi all. I found an interesting little tree in my woods today and I wonder what happened to it. Why is it the way it is? I think I know but I'm not sure. The tree is an ironwood about 3 inches in diameter and the tree seems to be healthy. It's putting out new leaves that look good.



 



 



 

The older I get and the more time I spend in the woods the more fasinated I am with the trees and plant life there.

   Cutter

[SwampDonkey]

I suspect the neighboring stump that is rotting away tells part of the tale of your ironwood. I suspect the tree was felled and landed on the little ironwood that caused some form of failure in it's stem and it couldn't stand back up after the big tree was taken out.  ;D

[tyb525]

Poston could make an interestingly shaped bench from that, if only it was a little bigger ;)

[WDH]

Something large and heavy, like wood, definitely fell on it.

[Phorester]

Here's one I found a few months ago.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

We have a lot of dogwoods like that. Bears climb in them, bend them over and they break but keep on growing.

[cutterboy]

Oh my word Phorester, that tree is amazing. Is it a cherry?

[Phorester]

Good guess with the bark in the fuzzy picture cutterboy, but it's a dogwood.
Took the picture with my cell phone camera, emailed it to my office, then enhanced it as much as I could on the computer.