wood identifying

[phyankord]

so since ive been told ive got alot of ocean spray in my area, i decided it would be a good idea to go out and search for the elusive bush (or should i say trigglypuff? i dont know my pokemon xD). i was wondering if any of you guys know what these are and if they are useful for anything.

for some dastardly reason i decided to pick the apparently hottest day of the summer (today >.<) to go out and do this so im soaking and need to take a shower after i post this xD.

i apoligize but for some reason the pictures are very blurry for a camera that has produced far crisper pictures before.

our first contender is an interesting plant which seems to grow in straight branching shoots (think mule deer antler), this beauty sports oval shaped leaves that are folded down the center and produces a chain of round red berries.





contestant number 2 also grows in long shoots, but as you may see it can be far bendier down near the base. you may also notice the rounded leaves which seem to slowly grow serrations which you will see much better in following pictures.







this is a few pictures of a much larger version of contestant 2, featuring the serrated leaves as well as a hella lot of dark berries





alas, my search for the elusive ocean spray lead me to one (technically 2, didnt get the last bush.) last plant that somewhat fit the bill.
this one sports bundles of white flowers and has a far more maple looking leaf.



i have one other plant to show, it appears to be some sort of bamboo?





you may ask why im having such a hard time finding the elusive ocean spray. well for starters im nowhere near the ocean (#badjokesarebad), im also not very good at this plant identification thing. and the images that i find online when looking for it arent that good >.< seems everyone only cares about one leaf and the flowers when their in full bloom so i cant see anything else.

[JoJoDapyro]

#1 looks like choke cherry
#2 looks to be Service berry, Or Saskatoon, depending on what country you live in.

[jeffp51]

well the purple berries look like chokecherry to me.  The white flowers look like dogwood, and the last plant is what we called snake grass when I was growing up, but I think it has other names, too--horsetail, for example.  It has silica in the stems, which is what makes them rough.  They can be used as a primitive sand paper for polishing wood shafts.

[SLIMBOB]

Scouring Rush.  White flowers do look like Dogwood.

[DC]

I've found this book to be really good for my area. It says it's for Wash and Oregon too. It's a good read as well as reference. It has a write-up on each plant that tells what the native people used it for. Number 2 is Saskatoon

[phyankord]

interesting resource DC. ill most definitely look into that.

[DC]

I was given two of them for Christmas one year. I took one back and got a credit slip. After three months of looking for something to get with the credit I finally went back and got a second copy. Now I have one in the house and one in the truck.

[Tracker0721]

Haha nope, notta, wrong. I'll bring you up to my buddies and you can cut as much as you want plus he'll show you all sorts of other plants and what they can be used for. The ocean spray is everywhere and the flowers are white still near water but turning brownish/ golden on the hillsides. I think as you take the back road around the lake there's a whole bunch. The flowers look like a chord of grapes kinda.

[JohnL]

That first one looks like Anacua, but I don't know if that would grow in your area.  The leaf & berry sure look like this pic...  http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=35

[Stoker]

#1 looks like choke cherry
#2 looks to be Service berry, Or Saskatoon, depending on what country you live in.

Bingo...
Dogwood..
Horseweed

[aaron]

the book DC recommends is excellent and oceanspray should be flowering at this time of year, so look for the cream colored flowers that look like a "spray"  or splash. When cut in summer is checks badly.

[wizardgoat]

Choke cherry
Serviceberry
Pacific nine bark
Horseweed

I've been wanting to cut a stave of pacific 9 bark, very tough to find anything large enough.

[penderbender]

Choke cherry
Serviceberry
Pacific nine bark
Horseweed

I've been wanting to cut a stave of pacific 9 bark, very tough to find anything large enough.

+1  I've gotten a few pieces of ninebark  between 50-60 " by 2" checks worse/ quicker than OS.  Very dense stuff and nice heart/sap contrast.  Cheers- Brendan

[phyankord]

good news, im almost certain i found it this time.

there are a couple places in town where people are growing them on their front yard that are easily big enough to use for bows. but i found this about a quarter mile from a spot where there is alot of it.

again sorry for the blur, i think there is somthing on my lens ( i think its from when i was doped up after my wisdom teeth got removed early this year) and im not sure how to get all of it off xD



under the leaves aimed at the branches

[DC]

That's it!