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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 2, 2018 12:14:10 GMT -5
My Garden Boy has started working diligently in the yard to expand my garden space and took down one of the trees that was most responsible for shading my garden. No editing involved! This tree really is this orange on the inside! It's a shame it's rotting from the inside out because there isn't any usable wood from it really. Best I can figure is that it's an Aspen, a tree that colors after being exposed to air. I can't find any pictures online of them being THIS orange though. We have a second one that is also doing poorly, and sure enough where DH trimmed off a branch or two, the trunk has turned a vibrant shade of orange.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 2, 2018 12:32:30 GMT -5
That wood is definitely bright orange! The only orange wood that I have woked with is Padauk, but I think that it is a tropical tree, so it couldn't be that.
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Post by spike on Nov 2, 2018 12:36:43 GMT -5
Oh that is amazing. You should take a cutting and put that clear coat stuff on it.
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Post by september on Nov 2, 2018 13:16:53 GMT -5
ladymarmalade , Can you take that large wood chunk in the middle with the hole in it, and use it for a planter? I suppose the bright orange color will fade to grey once it's exposed to sun and the elements. The tree bark looks darker to me than the off-white/tan of the aspen/popple that we have up here, but older trees do end up with a scabby grey look. Younger ones can be even mistaken for birch from a distance and there are varying shades of bark color. I'm glad your garden will enjoy the extra sun!
I wonder if there is a fungus for trees, that if it invades the system might turn them that orange. There is a parasitic one that will do that to certain types of mushrooms if it attaches to them - then called Lobster mushrooms.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 2, 2018 14:38:39 GMT -5
Oh that is amazing. You should take a cutting and put that clear coat stuff on it. There's a few smaller diameter pieces that I've suggested that DH try and clean cut a few slices of, and then poly them to make small 6 inch cutting boards. It really is stunning to look at!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 2, 2018 14:40:57 GMT -5
ladymarmalade , Can you take that large wood chunk in the middle with the hole in it, and use it for a planter? I suppose the bright orange color will fade to grey once it's exposed to sun and the elements. The tree bark looks darker to me than the off-white/tan of the aspen/popple that we have up here, but older trees do end up with a scabby grey look. Younger ones can be even mistaken for birch from a distance and there are varying shades of bark color. I'm glad your garden will enjoy the extra sun! I wonder if there is a fungus for trees, that if it invades the system might turn them that orange. There is a parasitic one that will do that to certain types of mushrooms if it attaches to them - then called Lobster mushrooms.
Interesting thought about the fungus, because there is a second of these trees that's also doing poorly. It does have some mushrooms growing out of a few spots. DH thought they were Beech trees until he cut this one down and it turned such a brilliant orange. There's no nuts though, and I'm not finding anything that says Beech trees can turn orange. I'm going to go snap some more pictures.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 2, 2018 14:52:06 GMT -5
New scars from some trimming plus the fungus. Close up of one of the mushroom clusters. Leaves and seed pods. AND while there are the long skinny seed pod things growing on the ends of the branches, farther up the branch there are also tons of clusters of what looks like little pine cones. Maybe some of these would be a treasure for coppice?
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Post by september on Nov 2, 2018 16:39:36 GMT -5
ladymarmalade, I'm really curious about the orange color too, so I sent an email and copy of your tree pictures to our friend that taught forestry of the U of Minn. He may not be responding to email much just now because it's deer season opener tomorrow morning and I expect he's getting ready for hunting. I'll let you know when he answers me.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 2, 2018 16:52:19 GMT -5
ladymarmalade, I'm really curious about the orange color too, so I sent an email and copy of your tree pictures to our friend that taught forestry of the U of Minn. He may not be responding to email much just now because it's deer season opener tomorrow morning and I expect he's getting ready for hunting. I'll let you know when he answers me. Oh, that would be wonderful if your friend replied! Please do let me know what he says!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 2, 2018 17:12:06 GMT -5
I think I'm leaning towards it being an ALDER, not an aspen. Which variety, I have no idea, but the different male and female seedpods on the same tree and the leaf shape are making me think an alder. Plus they do well planted near streams and wetlands, and they are definitely close-ish to the creek running along the back of the yard.
Also, in the wiki it mentions this:
"A red dye can also be extracted from the outer bark, and a yellow dye from the inner bark"
So if you put the two together, you get orange. I may be reaching, but it makes sense. And if it IS alder, there's actually a lot of uses for different parts of it.
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Post by paulf on Nov 2, 2018 19:20:14 GMT -5
I agree that this is an alder tree, I think a red alder. Scientific classification edit Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Clade: Rosids Order: Fagales Family: Betulaceae Subfamily: Betuloideae Genus: Alnus Mill. male parts on the right, female parts on the left. Alnus rubra Bong. — Red alder. Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana.
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Post by Gianna on Nov 2, 2018 19:34:01 GMT -5
Yes, an alder tree. Never seen any cut wood that color. Very striking.
We have a street tree here in SoCal called carrotwood with orange color wood when cut, but not nearly that intense. Our tree is from the tropics.
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Post by bestofour on Nov 2, 2018 21:05:48 GMT -5
Wonder if the color stays until it composts away.
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Post by september on Nov 2, 2018 23:45:09 GMT -5
It sure does look like the Wikipedia Alnus rubra -Red Alder pictures. It would be interesting to know how these trees got on your Wisconsin property since all the maps show it as growing naturally along the west coast, with some showing it across to Idaho and Montana. I wonder if someone brought them back from a trip out west, or got them through a nursery?
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Post by farmerjack41 on Nov 3, 2018 0:25:58 GMT -5
A number of years ago, built a set of kitchen cabinets, for some folks out of that wood. They turned out really looking like something. Wish I had taken picture of them. As it dries the color get lighter. At that time alder was not too expensive, but like everything else, that has changed. On the west side of the state, where it grows, it is almost considered a weed, as it is so thick. Some tree farms thin them out so the remaining will grow to log size.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 3, 2018 11:01:51 GMT -5
Yes, an alder tree. Never seen any cut wood that color. Very striking. We have a street tree here in SoCal called carrotwood with orange color wood when cut, but not nearly that intense. Our tree is from the tropics. Funny, because in my searches for a tree with orange wood, the carrotwood never came up. But when I search for carrotwood, the first thing that pops up says it is known for it's orange wood. Carrotwood is a pretty tree, but it definitely is tropical isn't it.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 3, 2018 11:04:17 GMT -5
Wonder if the color stays until it composts away. It will be interesting to see how long the color stays. He's got it stacked up to season for a year before burning it in the fireplace. I keep thinking that I'd love to learn how to extract the dye from the tree! I don't know what I'd dye, but for some reason having a vat of dye sounds fun to me!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 3, 2018 11:11:16 GMT -5
It sure does look like the Wikipedia Alnus rubra -Red Alder pictures. It would be interesting to know how these trees got on your Wisconsin property since all the maps show it as growing naturally along the west coast, with some showing it across to Idaho and Montana. I wonder if someone brought them back from a trip out west, or got them through a nursery? It's curious isn't it!? My DH can be very chatty with the neighbors so I'll have to mention it to him to bring it up in conversation if he has a chance. Our house is only 40 years old, and none of the immediate neighbors have been here that long. But I think the home across the creek has been there for longer and the people who live there built it, so if he ever had a chance to talk to them...
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 3, 2018 11:13:24 GMT -5
A number of years ago, built a set of kitchen cabinets, for some folks out of that wood. They turned out really looking like something. Wish I had taken picture of them. As it dries the color get lighter. At that time alder was not too expensive, but like everything else, that has changed. On the west side of the state, where it grows, it is almost considered a weed, as it is so thick. Some tree farms thin them out so the remaining will grow to log size. Hmm. If they grow like weeds then they might propagate themselves fairly easily. We'll have to keep an eye out for sproutlings. I wouldn't mind having a couple growing in a different part of the yard.
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