Mystery tree ID...

[organic_archer]

Can't figure out what this one is. I only run across it in the understory of dense, wet timber along the local rivers. It isn't widespread, and the one in the pictures is fairly large. Most are only a few inches in diameter.  What do you all think?

[Bob Barnes]

it looks like a double serrated leaf margin...there are only a few trees with that.  The group consists of mostly elms, but it doesn't look like an elm.  There's also birch and hornbeam...

[Digital Caveman]

Definitely Eastern Hop Hornbeam, AKA Ironwood, AKA Poorman's Osage, AKA Osage of the North. 

It's quite elastic, dense, and slow-growing, It's relatively uncommon unless you find clusters, which usually have a fair number in them. I find they typically either unusable or pretty good, not a lot in between. It's generally an undergrowth tree that doesn't grow very big, but I've seen more big trees further south.  It splits like elm.
It's a great bow wood in every regard, It would fit your style wonderfully, I'm kind of surprised you haven't already used it.  It does take a while to season.  Probably my single favorite material, please send some. 

[Kidder]

I plugged your pictures into PictureThis. Both photos (bark and leaves) came back as American Hophornbeam.

[bownarra]

Interesting the few hop hornbeams i've seen over here have darker bark that is a lot smoother. Trees eh!? Good find anyway it is great wood.

[BowEd]

Ironwood/musclewood aka hornbeam as we call it here.Excellent bow wood.Thinner bark on it compared to hard elm.
A fella a couple miles north of me has some I'm going to take a look at soon.He treats it as a nuisance tree....ha ha.I'll take some pictures then too.

[Eric Krewson]

In N Alabama, American hornbeam (blue beech) has slick bark with muscle like veins running up the trunk, hop hornbeam has hairy bark not smooth.

I think your tree is an elm of some kind, I cut its twin a few days ago when I was bush hogging and got my bush hog jammed between it and another tree, there was no going forward or back so the tree had to go. It was just like yours and had mostly sapwood with a small center of dark heartwood. I thought about making bow staves out of it but with a lifetime supply of osage put back I trashed it instead. 

Here is the hop hornbeam bark



American hornbeam AKA muscle wood

[Digital Caveman]

What Eric said.  I have found that very young stems have smooth bark like young cherries or birches, middle age trees have grey bark like what you showed, and older trees (though not a lot bigger) can have the shaggier bark.  All the HHB I've seen has finer bark scales than elm.  Some of the HHB I've seen has dark heartwood, but much of it has none.  Elm is ring puros and HHB is diffuse porous, that should help distinguish them. 

[organic_archer]

Wow. Didn’t know HHB grew here! I’ve always wanted to try it out, and have seen some beautiful bows from it on PA. The young shoots had smoother bark. The one pictured is about 5-6” diameter and pipe straight. I didn’t see many growing bigger than that, and they were often twisted and knotty.

Thanks everyone. I’ll have to turn one into a bow.

[superdav95]

I say it looks like hhb like others have said.  The bark is sort of soft and breaks in the hand easily.  Mine here looks like what you’ve got there.   It looks fairly straight in photo.  One thing I’ve done with mine is take a good look and inventory the bark as they can sometimes telegraph the twist of the wood underneath.  I’ve passed up some mature hhb as they were very twisty.  Excellent bow wood if you can find a straight one.  It ends up quite thin at the finished bow due to it’s dense nature. Makes great  candidate for heat treatment also.  Best of luck and great find. 

[Bob Barnes]

The hop-hornbeam here in Arkansas is more "ERC-like bark with elm-like leaves".  It makes awesome bows, but it is also the only tree I have ever found that can be stovepipe straight and round, but the grain can spiral 360° in a 6' piece.  You can usually see it in the bark when it's like that.  Good luck and have fun.

[Pappy]

I would say it is some type of elm, both make good bows, once you cut it you will know. Bark don’t look like the bark on ours here in Tennessee. Pappy

[bassman211]

I have been working with blue beech,and hh in the last month or so.  Both are good bow woods.  Many may not agree ,but I prefer the blue beech.Only my opimion ,but your tree looks like some type of elm to me.