Forestry 280 Features of Woods 48-56

#48: Sassafras Sassafras albidum Avg. SG: 0.45 Heartwood Color: Grey or grayish brown Heartwood Odor: Spicy odor and taste Pore Distribution: Ring-porous Earlywood: 3-8 pores wide; pores medium to large Latewood: Pores solitary and in radial multiples of 2-3, forming fine tangential lines in outer latewood Tyloses: Fairly abundant Rays: Barely visible to eye

#49: Black Cherry Prunus serotina Avg. SG: 0.50 Heartwood Color: Light to dark cinnamon or reddish brown Pore Distribution: Diffuse-porous Pores: Pores through growth ring solitary and in radial or irregular multiples and small clusters Gum Defects: Common Rays: Not visible on tangential surface; conspicuous light ray fleck on radial surfaces; distinct whitish lines across transverse surface (distinct to naked eye)

#51: Common Persimmon Diospyros virginiana Heartwood Color: Core dark, nearly black Sapwood Color: Creamy white, darkening to yellow or light grey Pore Distribution: Semi-ring-porous Pores: Largest pores medium to large, thick walled; appear to be relatively few; solitary or in radial multiples Tyloses: Occasionally present Parenchyma: Fine tangential lines Rays: Fine, visible w/lens Ripple Marks: On tangential surfaces; denotes storied structure

#52: Eastern Cottonwood Populus deltoides Avg. SG: 0.40 Heartwood Color: Grayish to light grayish brown, sometimes with olive cast Odor: Moist wood with foul odor (not universal) Pore Distribution: Diffuse-porous or semi-diffuse porous Pores: Medium to small, solitary and in radial multiples of 2 to several Rays: Very fine, not easily seen with lens

#54: Black Willow Salix nigra Avg. SG: 0.39 Heartwood Color: Light brown to pale reddish or grayish brown, frequently with dark streaks Pore Distribution: Diffuse-porous to semi-diffuse-porous Pores: Medium to small, usually with apparent size gradation from earlywood to latewood, solitary and in multiples of 2 to several. Pores typically much more visible (larger) than in cottonwood and aspen Rays: Very fine, barely visible w/hand lens

#53: Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides Avg. SG: 0.38 Heartwood Color: Creamy white to light grayish brown Pore Distribution: Diffuse-porous Pores: Small to very small, w/gradation from earlywood to latewood, solitary and in multiples of 2 to several Rays: Very fine, not easily seen w/hand lens NOTE: Don’t separate #52 and #53

#55: American Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Heartwood Color: Pale yellowish or brownish white Pore Distribution: Diffuse-porous Pores: Indistinct without a hand lens Rays: Two types: Narrow and aggregate; wide aggregate rays are fairly abundant Other: Wood heavy and hard; often has wavy growth ring boundaries

#56: Eastern Hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Heartwood Color: Whitish to light brown tinged with red Pore Distribution: Diffuse-porous Pores: Indistinct or barely visible to the eye; often aggregated into flame-shaped groups Rays: Fine, indistinct, closely spaced (NOTE: no aggregate rays as in #55) Other: Wood heavy and very hard; growth rings often with “ragged contours”

Acknowledgement Photomacrographs by Zach Kriess Supplemental photomacrographs (those with white text showing scientific name) courtesy of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory