What tree is this?

Essex County

Trying to identify the tree this seed pod and leaf came from. Any thoughts?

fishlessman

are the leaves in clusters of 7, maybe a horsechestnut? does the green break of with a nut inside

fishlessman

maybe not, leaf looks wrong
http://tree-species.blogspot.com/2009/03/edible-chestnuts-vs-horse-chestnuts.html

Essex County

The tree is behind a garage in Boston. The trunk has a fairly smooth, light bark and is about 6 inches in diameter. It is about 20 feet tall and growing against a wall. The green thing has 7 seeds in it. It's dried out since I took the picture and pod has split to reveal the seeds. I first thought it was some kind of chestnut also, but now I don't think so.

Gator Bait

 
How big is the seed pod and the leaf?

Gator

Essex County

The seed pod is about 2 to 2.5 inches in diameter. The leaf, about 5 inches long.

Haggis

Resembles one of the gums - e.g., sweetgum or american sycamore - but you're pretty far north for that. I don't recall the seedpods being as big as you state but they certainly look similar. Sycamore has a largish 5-lobe leaf I think - any chance that the leaf in your photo has been torn a bit?

Cpt'n Cook

I thought it might be a Hazelnut or a Witch Hazel but I don't think so.

Essex County

The leaf is whole. I also thought it might be a gum tree but the only ones I know have smaller pods. This one is almost the size of a racketball.

Gator Bait

 
Hmmm . . . that's bigger then I thought. Being in Boston it may not be native. I'll be interested to see if someone can ID it.

Gator

 

Haggis

Well then, you have to help us further . . .

Been a long time (45 years!) since 10th grade biology but I seem to recall that things that would help include whether the leaves are alternate or opposed, the height of the tree, color and texture of the bark, etc.

I think you'll find its something in the gum family but I haven't any idea which one.

bitslammer

Need more info.

Try this link: http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/WhatTree.cfm?ItemID=E6A

stike

that's poison sumac.

hahahaha'

(kidding)

fishlessman

im going with beech, scroll down on the link, pod has several nuts and i looked a few leaves on other sites, they can be smootk or saw like on the edges
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&amp;q=beech+tree+nut&amp;img=http://www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/summaries/slovenia/les_slike/listavci/sl_bukev.jpg&amp;site=&amp;host=http://www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/summaries/slovenia/deciduous.htm&amp;width=117&amp;height=109&amp;thumbUrl=http://images-partners-tbn.google.com/images?q=tbn:tZH-AF9AXzxK7M:www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/summaries/slovenia/les_slike/listavci/sl_bukev.jpg&amp;b=image?q=beech+tree+nut&page=7&flv=1&s_it=rboxImgDtls&oreq=8854432d3c941d5862dff6303f9f361&icid=snap-pic&oreq=b43543dce84643688916a60f16fb9a2c&amp;imgHeight=290&amp;imgWidth=310&amp;imgTitle=<b>Beech</b>+<b>tree</b>&amp;imgSize=15097&amp;hostName=www.edu.joensuu.fi

bitslammer

fishlessman wrote:

im going with beech, scroll down on the link, pod has several nuts and i looked a few leaves on other sites, they can be smootk or saw like on the edges
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&amp;q=beech+tree+nut&amp;img=http://www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/summaries/slovenia/les_slike/listavci/sl_bukev.jpg&amp;site=&amp;host=http://www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/summaries/slovenia/deciduous.htm&amp;width=117&amp;height=109&amp;thumbUrl=http://images-partners-tbn.google.com/images?q=tbn:tZH-AF9AXzxK7M:www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/summaries/slovenia/les_slike/listavci/sl_bukev.jpg&amp;b=image?q=beech+tree+nut&page=7&flv=1&s_it=rboxImgDtls&oreq=8854432d3c941d5862dff6303f9f361&icid=snap-pic&oreq=b43543dce84643688916a60f16fb9a2c&amp;imgHeight=290&amp;imgWidth=310&amp;imgTitle=<b>Beech</b>+<b>tree</b>&amp;imgSize=15097&amp;hostName=www.edu.joensuu.fi

Holy smokes Fishless!!!1

I bet that link is longer than any fish you've ever caught!

fishlessman

maybe any ive landed :laugh: biggest ever to take a fly was atleast 20, maybe 25, thats in feet big ole thing rubbed his back on the underside of the boat, thought the motor was going to rip off. that is one big link though :laugh:

stike

found a couple sites that let you drill down based on leaf, fruit type, etc. and it kept coming up as sweetgum, beech, even sycamore

i have had a few sycamores, they have giant leaves, and didn't look like that

the other option was a type of chestnut.

those three were pretty consistent

i couldn't find an exact match, so i gave up

fishlessman

im sticking with beech because of several seed/nuts coming out of the pod and that last summer half my chord wood that came in was beech.

stike

"chord" wood? wassat, like for making pianos?

fishlessman

its the kind that causes you to sing loudly when your splitting it and a piece sails off the block and hits your shin :laugh:

stike

hahaha


yeah. i can see you singing while chopping wood. what the guys at the shop don't know about you...hahaha

Cpt'n Cook

You mean you don't cut your own wood :S

Essex County

You're right but I can't get more info until monday when I go back to the office! I will try to take a couple more pics. I guess I could ask someone in charge of the grounds at my campus. Would that be cheating?

Essex County

Yeah, I went to the site suggested by bitslammer and a few others. You get to gum or beech but nothing looks right. I thought all beech trees were destined to be giant. Don't think I'd plant one next to a wall but maybe it's a different kind of beech. Still, I'm leaning in that direction.

stike

if it is small, it could just be a son of a beech.

crghc98

Essex,

Let us know what the grounds crew said.....

You thinking of taking some trimmings home for smoking?

fishlessman

who has time to cut wood when they fish. at camp its nice to burn a cords worth in the winter so it gets deliverd there almost as cheap as full lengths here. at home i burn coal, messy but aweful convienient. 4 ton coal is about 8 cords worth which is what i burn at home

Hoss

Sycamore/SweetGum.

Essex County

I finally got around to asking the folks who take care of the grounds on the campus. The tree is the Turkish Filbert, Corylus colurna.

Turkish Filbert

Thanks for your many thoughtful guesses!