1. Ring Porous Hardwoods FW1035 Lab Lecture 1 Ashes Red oak White oak
white ash
black ash
Sassafras
True Hickory
Red oak
White oak
American elm (white elm)
Red elm (slippery elm)
Hackberry
Specific Gravities (SG) are from Hoadley, calculated from
oven-dry (OD) weight and volume at 12% moisture
content (MC).

2. Oaks General Characteristics Uses:
Have two types of rays – uniseriate and wide, “oak-type” rays.
Usually ring-porous (live oak and tanoak are semi-ring porous)
Many types of longitudinal parenchyma arrangements including banded and vasicentric confluent
Many commercial oak species, but can be divided into white and red oak groups.
Uses:
Furniture and cabinetry
Railway ties (red oaks)
Crates and pallets
Barrels (white oaks)

3. Red oak Quercus rubra (Fagaceae)
Often planted as an ornamental due to its impressive fall colors.
Widespread throughout the eastern US and Canada.

4. Red oak Quercus rubra (Fagaceae)
ID Characteristics
SG = 0.63
Round earlywood pores
Tyloses absent or sparse
Ray ends typically 3/8 to 5/8 inches high (rarely taller than 1 inch)
Color: pink-red brown
Other common red oaks:
Q. falcata, southern red oak
Q. velutina, black oak

5. White oak Quercus alba (Fagaceae)
Common in the eastern US.

6. White oak Quercus alba (Fagaceae)
There are many uses for white oak. The most important are whiskey barrels, bumper pool tables, and vampire stakes.

7. White oak Quercus alba (Fagaceae)
ID Characteristics
SG = 0.68
Latewood pores are thin-walled and indistinct, forming dendritic masses
Tyloses are abundant, except in most recently formed sapwood
Tall ray ends to 1.65 inches - frequently taller than 1.5 inches
Other common white oaks:
Q. macrocarpa, bur oak
Q. stellata, post oak

8. Elms General Characteristics Uses: Ulmiform latewood pores
Abundant tyloses
Uses:
Furniture (especially steam-bent parts)
Crates and pallets

9. American elm Ulmus americana (Ulmaceae)
Found throughout eastern North America and the Midwest. A very common street tree before Dutch Elm Disease.

10. American elm Ulmus americana (Ulmaceae)
ID Characteristics
SG = 0.50
Single row of earlywood pores
Light brown heartwood
Rays not distinct on cross-section (4-5 seriate)

11. Red elm Ulmus rubra (Ulmaceae)
Not considered important for lumber and less desirable than American Elm. Most abundant in the Lake States and Midwest.

12. Red elm (Slippery Elm) Ulmus rubra (Ulmaceae)
ID Characteristics
SG = 0.53
Multiple rows of earlywood pores
Darkish red-brown heartwood
Rays relatively indistinct on cross-section with naked eye(4-5 seriate)

13. Hackberry Celtis occidentalis (Ulmaceae)
Trees are often planted for shade. Wood is used in inexpensive furniture. Prone to bluestain.

14. Hackberry Celtis occidentalis (Ulmaceae)
ID Characteristics
SG = 0.53
Multiple rows of earlywood pores
Light brown heartwood, often with yellowish cast
Often colored with “blue stain” fungi
Rays are distinct on the cross-section with naked eye (typically 5-8, but up to 13-seriate)

15. Ashes Fraxinus spp. (Oleaceae)
ID Features
Narrow rays (1-3 seriate)
Distinct latewood pores (solitary or short multiples)
Tyloses common
Longitudinal parenchyma
vasicentric
aliform to confluent, depending on position in growth ring

16. White ash Fraxinus americana
Grows naturally from Nova Scotia to eastern Texas. Becoming less common as the Emerald Ash Borer spreads throughout the US and Canada.

17. White ash Fraxinus americana
Due to white ash being strong and able to resist shocks, it is widely used for tool handles and baseball bats.
EAB, which affects all types of ash trees in the US and Canada, is commonly transported with ash firewood.

18. Ashes White ash Fraxinus americana Hard and dense (SG=0.60)
Creamy yellow sapwood to light brown heartwood
Usually wide sapwood band
Uses
tool handles
furniture
veneer for decorative plywood
baseball bats and athletic equipment

19. Black ash Fraxinus nigra
Slow growing and primarily found in wetlands and swamps. Wood is commonly used for baskets.

20. Ashes Black ash Fraxinus nigra Lower density and hardness (SG=0.49)
Medium gray-brown
Often has narrow growth rings - may not be wide enough to see confluent longitudinal parenchyma
Uses:
furniture
pallets and crates

21. Sassafras Sassafras albidum (Lauraceae)
When grown in the north, grows to little more than a shrub. Aromatic tree with little commercial value, except to the perfume industry.

22. Sassafras Sassafras albidum (Lauraceae)
ID Characteristics
SG = 0.45
Similar to black ash, but faster grown - wider growth rings
Rarely see aliform or confluent longitudinal parenchyma
Distinct “root beer” odor

23. Hickory Shagbark Hickory
Range of shagbark hickory. Most hickories share a very similar range.

24. Hickory
Some common uses for hickory include smoking meat products and furniture/cabinetry.

25. Hickory Carya spp. (Juglandaceae)
ID Characteristics
Hard and dense wood (SG ≈ 0.72 for true hickories, 0.66 for pecans)
Intermittent row of large earlywood pores (may look semi-ring porous with pecan hickories)
Distinct banded longitudinal parenchyma
makes “reticulate” pattern with rays
in pecan hickories, extends into earlywood
Shagbark Hickory (A “True Hickory”)

26. Hickory Common “True Hickory” species: Pecan Hickories:
Cary ovata, shagbark hickory
C. glabra, pignut hickory
C. laciniosa, shellbark hickory
C. tomentosa, mockernut hickory
Pecan Hickories:
C. illinoensis, pecan
C. aquatica, water hickory
C. cordiformis, bitternut
C. myristiciformis, nutmeg hickory
Uses:
Tool handles
Furniture and cabinetry
Curing (smoking) meat products
Pallets and packaging
Pecan Hickory