# corky bark tree ID



## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i found some small trees that i cannot readily ID. from a distance, i thought they were dirty white birch. up close they have textured and very corky bark. the wood appears to be a hardwood not unlike oak or dogwood. the best i can come up with is black gum.

any ideas?


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## BSCOTTM (Jan 3, 2008)

I Would Guess Paradise Tree.looks Like One To Me


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Sour (or Black) Gum is a good guess. Tree of Heaven has a smooter bark and Paradise Tree is a DEEP south (as in Florida) south tree.


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## barn-apart (Feb 10, 2005)

Also called; mountain magnolia,or umbrella tree. range fron the Virginias south to northern Georga at 800-5000' found in moist soils in hardwood forest. Twigs are brown, stout , with ring scars at the nodes.Bark; thin, smooth, becomming scaly, light grey. Info taken from The Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern edition. This is best guess from your pictures. There were a few others that sort of matched the pictures ,but do not know what area you are in to narrow them down. Hope this helps.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

No, Umbrella trees and cucumber trees have a much smother and tighter bark. More like hickorty.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Some of the leaf litter is white oak, but the bark's not white oak.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

barn-apart said:


> Also called; mountain magnolia,or umbrella tree. range fron the Virginias south to northern Georga at 800-5000' found in moist soils in hardwood forest. Twigs are brown, stout , with ring scars at the nodes.Bark; thin, smooth, becomming scaly, light grey. Info taken from The Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern edition. This is best guess from your pictures. There were a few others that sort of matched the pictures ,but do not know what area you are in to narrow them down. Hope this helps.



i have those at other locations on the property. thanks anyway 


oh yeah...the location is just west of gettysburg.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

meloc......i wonder if this tree is a palonia?? an invasive species from japan.it grows here in virginia.in the spring it has purple blooms before leaves come out.it has huge leaves on it....like over a foot in diameter.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i don't think it is a pawlonia either. i would probably have noticed the large heart-shaped leaves.


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## Wildcrofthollow (Apr 20, 2005)

hmm, Hard to tell from the pics. they are pretty blurry on my comp. I strongly suspect Ailanthus altissima. Tree of heaven, sometimes called paradise tree. A friend of mine calls it "ghetto palm" for it's penchant for growing in cities. To be honest tho... that is just a guess. Ailanthus usually grows much straighter than that and the bark doesn't become bumpy until later in it's life. paulownia is another good guess. Leaf size on paulownia varies greatly. They can be huge, or sometimes fairly small. Sorry to have muddied the issue even farther.


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