Tree identification

[xzochye]

Any idea what type of tree this is?


http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6940&stc=1http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6941&stc=1http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6942&stc=1http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6943&stc=1http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6944&stc=1http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6945&stc=1

[Ludwig]

I'm guessing that it's an Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera), a.k.a. Bois-d'arc, Bodark, Hedge-apple. If it has thorns, I'm even more certain.

[CenTexDave]

Looks like what people have told me is called a China Berry. Damned things have popped up all over the back of my property. The wood isn't good for much of anything.

[xzochye]

I'm guessing that it's an Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera), a.k.a. Bois-d'arc, Bodark, Hedge-apple. If it has thorns, I'm even more certain.

No thorns, leaves look similar though but no fruit either.

[xzochye]

Looks like what people have told me is called a China Berry. Damned things have popped up all over the back of my property. The wood isn't good for much of anything.

Nope, that's not it. the shape of the tree looks nothing like the images I saw.

[CenTexDave]

How about a hackberry? Those things spring up all over, grow all weird and are generally a pain in the rear. If you take the trouble to trim them as they grow (and they grow fast) you could end up with a decent
looking tree.

[Night Owl]

Almost 100 percent positive it's a hackberry.

[xzochye]

The edges of the leaves are smooth, on the hackberry they are jagged. Plus it doesn't produce any fruit/berries.

[sojourner truth]

Looks a lot like every China Berry tree I ever saw, but it could be a Hackberry. I have never seen one of those, but I have seen the other.

Messy darn tree at best, and pretty limited on usefulness other than maybe shade.

[Ludwig]

Looks a lot like every China Berry tree I ever saw, but it could be a Hackberry. I have never seen one of those, but I have seen the other.

Messy darn tree at best, and pretty limited on usefulness other than maybe shade.Neither the Chinaberry nor the Hackberry tree foliage matches that of the tree in question.

[fchafey]

Arizona Ash

6946

[Ludwig]

Arizona Ash

6946Concur. Was fooled by perspective of foliage in original picture. Nice shot.

[CenTexDave]

Good for firewood then. :)

[fchafey]

I pride myself on tree and plant identification. There was time, however long ago, my strength was grasses and weeds.....:)

[sojourner truth]

Az. Ash does not produce nuts of any kind... They have a small very thin almond shaped seed. If you are unfortunate enough to have a female tree dropping them all over your lawn like I do. And the seeds drop in clusters.

They did a show last night on invasive species making their way into Texas that had a tree that looked a lot like that. But it had flowers on it at spring time... Not sure about what the seeds are.

And yes, ash trees do make fire wood. You have to let it season out for about a year before your toss it into a fireplace though or you will get a real indoor fireworks show. I just lopped off some pretty huge limbs on mine in my back yard and it is already cut and stacked for next winter. But it does burn a lot faster than Oak, as it is a very light wood when dried out. Not very good for grilling smoke either.

But it is free wood. Ash trees are lucky to last 20 years at best. But they do grow very fast.

[fchafey]

Arizona Ash, Silver Maple are two excellent trees for this area. One major problem is one should have 2-3 feet of topsoil for them to really thrive. With only 2-3 inches of topsoil thrown on the ground in these developments the roots don't go down far enough then spread. So yes 20 years of you are lucky and if one like trees then one trades the trees for lawns. I can already see a few spots where the roots have found rock underneath and are cruising just under the top soil surface. I had a French drain sunk in the back yard and the picture I got while deployed of trench show roots not very far down. In my back yard I have 2 Crepe Myrtles, 2 Pear Trees, Pin Oak, Silver Maple, and an Arizona Ash. In the front I have an Oak and it is already messing with the circle landscape around the base as well as the concrete ring.

[CenTexDave]

Which brings us back to a topic all of us seem to endear - the developers!!!
Sure, build on top of the rock and toss down 2-3" of topsoil.
I'm lucky - I can go down anywhere between 8-12" before I hit the crap. Had two apple trees that were producing
that fell prey to this. Can't plant a damn thing around here, but if by some miracle you do get it to grow it won't
be for long until the beloved deer decide it would make a wonderful snack.

[Ludwig]

Which brings us back to a topic all of us seem to endear - the developers!!!
Sure, build on top of the rock and toss down 2-3" of topsoil.
I'm lucky - I can go down anywhere between 8-12" before I hit the crap. Had two apple trees that were producing
that fell prey to this. Can't plant a damn thing around here, but if by some miracle you do get it to grow it won't
be for long until the beloved deer decide it would make a wonderful snack.Yes indeed, deer do make a wonderful snack... a full meal even. I believe that Texas law allows one to dispatch deer who eat your landscape without invitation. Check with the local game warden though before you squeeze the trigger.

[CenTexDave]

Can't discharge a firearm inside city limits, Mein Herr.
Used to like seeing a deer or two when I first moved here. Now I get to see herds of 10+ each day.
This morning I woke up, went to the kitchen to make coffee, looked out the window into my back yard
and saw a doe and a couple new borns. Couldn't have been but 2 hours old as they were walking wobbly.
Eat all the grass you want, but leave my trees, shrubs, plants and flowers alone.

[xzochye]

Don't think it's Arizona Ash. It doesn't get the grey fuzz on young twigs or leaves. Also, it doesn't have the same type of seed/pods.

Thanks for try to help out though. I decided to go ahead and have it cut down since I couldn't figure out what it was. It was growing about 3-4 feet from my house and I didn't want to risk it being a large tree and it's roots damaging my foundation.

[CenTexDave]

That's probably the wisest thing to do. If the roots grow under the foundation it could cause you all sorts of big time problems.

[sojourner truth]

Yeah... That is the problem with my ash trees... They have gone under the driveway and busted it up in a few places, and have trunk feelers all over the back yard.

Ash trees are popular because they grow very fast and provide a lot of shade. They are short lived because they are soft wood and susceptible to borers and then go in a few years. I have a Texas ash in the front yard and it is doing great. Harder wood. The Arizona ash in the backyard is hanging by a thread, and whenever I cut off a dying limb I can spot the borers inside. They cut off the flow of juices from the root to the leaves and interrupt photosynthesis killing the tree a little bit at a time.

Most professional landscapers call the m Arizona trash because the contractor slaps them in the yard and they grow quick... And that's fine until it dies a bit later and then you have to get rid of the poor thing.

Whenever planting a tree in all of this Calichee laden soil of Texas, the secret is to dig your hole and then use a tankers bar to bust through the calichee layer so that a tap root can get established. If you don't, you get what I have... Trunk roots that can only go a foot deep and then spread out to the whole yard to get water instead of going down. Beautiful shade tree, but root issues.

[kantwin]

When I bought my first house on Fleetwood, I put in 2 Arizona ash trees in the back yard. The trunks were about 2 inches in diameter.
I dug down about 4 or 5 inches, and hit that hard clay. I used a pick axe and tanker bars to bust through that. It was about 6 or 7 inches thick. I made that hole about 2 1/2 feet in diameter.
10 years later, those trees had grown to maybe 5 inch diameter. So, not so fast growing, in my opinion.

[CenTexDave]

Poplars grow extremely fast, but if you don't trim off the branches that are continually popping out from the trunk near ground level they will
look hideous.

[sojourner truth]

When I bought my first house on Fleetwood, I put in 2 Arizona ash trees in the back yard. The trunks were about 2 inches in diameter.
I dug down about 4 or 5 inches, and hit that hard clay. I used a pick axe and tanker bars to bust through that. It was about 6 or 7 inches thick. I made that hole about 2 1/2 feet in diameter.
10 years later, those trees had grown to maybe 5 inch diameter. So, not so fast growing, in my opinion.

I had a huge Az. ash in the back yard, and then planted a Texas ash in the front. The Texas ash caught up to the other one in 5 years and grew like it was on steroids.

Of course, that may be due to the fact that it was planted directly over the sewer line running from the house to the street. Both are still alive, but the one in back is sicker than a Marine on shore leave.

[mac]

Arizona Ash, Silver Maple are two excellent trees for this area. One major problem is one should have 2-3 feet of topsoil for them to really thrive. With only 2-3 inches of topsoil thrown on the ground in these developments the roots don't go down far enough then spread. So yes 20 years of you are lucky and if one like trees then one trades the trees for lawns. I can already see a few spots where the roots have found rock underneath and are cruising just under the top soil surface. I had a French drain sunk in the back yard and the picture I got while deployed of trench show roots not very far down. In my back yard I have 2 Crepe Myrtles, 2 Pear Trees, Pin Oak, Silver Maple, and an Arizona Ash. In the front I have an Oak and it is already messing with the circle landscape around the base as well as the concrete ring.

if your oak tree is "live oak", you'll alwys have that tightly woven circular mass of roots up near the top. it's just the way live oaks are. most of us on here are really on 2 levels (strata) of lime stone, not just one. You've got that first one down 4 maybe 5 inches and it's about 6 inches thick but then you have about 18 or 20 inches of good stuff before you hit the 2nd layer. If you're plantin' a pecan you gotta break a hole through both layers because pecans have a tap root that wants to go straight down......but in any case, for every tree, you need to break though that first top layer of limestone....mac

[Grammar Rules]

Are the leaves rough like fine sandpaper? It still looks like a hackberry to me.

[mac]

Are the leaves rough like fine sandpaper? It still looks like a hackberry to me.

looks similar from 10' away or so but all oaks are either lobed or toothed. hackberry's are toothed. this tree doesn't appear to be toothed...it's far fetched but it wouldn't s'prise me but what if it wasn't a hybrid hackberry/red tip photina......but if I had to bet some real serious money on it, I'd bet it was a sugarberry.....mac

[kantwin]

all oaks are either lobed or toothed.

Not quite.
Ever heard of a laurel oak? I have a few of those in my yard. They put out leaves like this -
http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6956&stc=1
neither either lobed nor toothed.
Willow oaks are similar as well.

[mac]

Not quite.
Ever heard of a laurel oak? I have a few of those in my yard. They put out leaves like this -
http://www.centextalk.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6956&stc=1
neither either lobed nor toothed.
Willow oaks are similar as well.

are you sure a laurel oak ain't a laurel and a willow oak not a willow? I ain't got a clue but my guess is that neither one of 'em are true oaks.....mac

[mac]

are you sure a laurel oak ain't a laurel and a willow oak not a willow? I ain't got a clue but my guess is that neither one of 'em are true oaks.....mac

well, I was wrong about the willow oak, it's a true oak......even has acorns on it. I never should've used the word "all".....hell, I know better than that......mac


The laurel oak is lobed....the leaf you show is for a laurel oak but not mature yet.....thanx for the education, 'ppreciate it.....mac