Question for you tree experts
A pal brought over a couple of nuts and one with the shell still on. He also brought over a buckeye. The mystery nut is similar to a buckeye but lighter in color and not shiny. The shell is unique. It's 2-3" in diameter, black, and has spines all over. It looks like a miniature black porcupine. Any ideas guys?
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Sounds like sycamore tree seed pod
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We use to use them and black walnuts as hand grenades playing army.
Also tied string around the sycamore pods and other end of string to a stick. Then swing like the mace weapon.
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The bottom one is not sycamore. Maybe ginko?
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The bottom pic is sweet gum.
Your pods sound like chestnuts, except chestnuts are supposed to be extinct.
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allen griggs: 30128811176347/comments/30128795355547
The bottom pic is sweet gum.
Your pods sound like chestnuts, except chestnuts are supposed to be extinct.
american chestnuts are, there is a chinese chesnut that is thriving but not as big as the american nut........ the american variety does grow but after a few years they get the blight and die, Concord college down your way in Wva is doing a study trying to cross the american and chinese to make the american blightproof like the chinese, or were 10 or so years back
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Sounds like a chinese chestnut.
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Allen is correct. Have always called them sweetgum balls. They are a real PIA. If I catch them when they first fall, I blow them with the big Red Max. They roll away like so many golf balls. But if you cut the grass and run over them with the lawn tractor they are BIG trouble unless you want them to rot in the ground. If I don't time it right I blow the loose ones and kick the embedded ones up with my toe as i am blowing. Yes sir a real PIA.---Ray
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allen griggs: 30128811176347/comments/30128795355547
The bottom pic is sweet gum.
Your pods sound like chestnuts, except chestnuts are supposed to be extinct.
4205raymond: 30128811176347/comments/30128844082203
Allen is correct. Have always called them sweetgum balls. They are a real PIA. If I catch them when they first fall, I blow them with the big Red Max. They roll away like so many golf balls. But if you cut the grass and run over them with the lawn tractor they are BIG trouble unless you want them to rot in the ground. If I don't time it right I blow the loose ones and kick the embedded ones up with my toe as i am blowing. Yes sir a real PIA.---Ray
Yes, sweet gum. Back in elementary school days, they would have us country kids collect them, bring them in, and make them into Christmas tree ornaments using toothpicks, glue, spray paint and glitter. Hung them along with popcorn and colored construction paper chains.
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Sweet Gum, aka barefoot land mines.
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Sounds like a horse chestnut or sweet gum.
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Sweet gum...... dinosaur eggs! And they hurt like you know what when stepped on dry!
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Chinese chestnut it is. Thanks guys. Is this place great or what? 😁
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allen griggs: 30128811176347/comments/30128795355547
The bottom pic is sweet gum.
Your pods sound like chestnuts, except chestnuts are supposed to be extinct.
We planted 20 acres of Chestnuts trees years ago. The are a Chinese cross. We are planning on planting 75 acres in the next year. We have about thirty different varieties and there is many more than that. Don
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Only thing I know about chestnut trees is that in Germany a beer garden must have a chestnut tree on site to legally be called a beer garden. I've been fortunate to visit Munich 3 times to visit an ex-manager from work. I've been to outdoor parties before but those guys take beer drinking to a whole new level. 😋
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I bought 3 of those dunstan chestnut trees they sell at Wal-Mart and instead of planting them in a triangle formation, I planted them in a straight line. Now only the one in the middle bears nuts. But for the space I had to plant them it was the only way I could fit them. And I can tell you this about sweet gum. It's the crappiest firewood ever.
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notnow: 30128811176347/comments/30128780175259
I bought 3 of those dunstan chestnut trees they sell at Wal-Mart and instead of planting them in a triangle formation, I planted them in a straight line. Now only the one in the middle bears nuts. But for the space I had to plant them it was the only way I could fit them. And I can tell you this about sweet gum. It's the crappiest firewood ever.
LOL, I have found NO good uses for sweetgum(not from a homeowners perspective).
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Did you know that during WW2 there was a real shortage of old growth and walnut in general for the War effort? I am told by some of the old timers, myself included that with the shortage came increased usage of the sweetgum trees (mostly the heart) Many use to call sweetgum "Poor man's walnut". Very hard to control drying and warpage on it.
Hundreds of 37 Winchesters have passed thru my hands and I suspect they and other mfg's started to cut corners out of necessity. When they dropped the bull nose, stopped shaping the pistol grip and cutting the buttstock straight was when the "Poorman's Walnut" seemed to show up.
I have seen some beautiful grain show up in late Model 37's and especially in the youth 20Ga. that came out in 1958. Sometimes you happen on one that they grabbed part of the heartwood (Winchester Red) and almost Blond on the other side. I have even tried to stain the Blond side to match the other side. Desperate foolish men do desperate things.
If i ever make it back to Virginia i will cut the three sweetgum trees down on my back lot and give the wood to my good friend and neighbor "Bill" for his two wood stoves. A poor choice but good riddance. ----------------------------------------Ray
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My sweet gum wood dried for 2 years. All it would do is lay there and smolder.
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As there was an overabundance of sweet gum on my woodlot, I burned a lot of it heating with wood. Worst stuff ever but is was free and readily at hand.
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It's true you know. if you get a fire hot enough, anything will burn.😀 -------Ray
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I built the front door of this log cabin from sweet gum. The sawmill had a stack of sweet gum 1 x 10s, the guy said it was too hard and nobody would buy it.
It is a very hard wood, has a beautiful grain.
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mike55: 30128811176347/comments/30128844753051
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11397815#Comment_11397815
LOL, I have found NO good uses for sweetgum(not from a homeowners perspective).
I used to shoot sweet gum balls off of trees with a pellet gun when I was a kid. Great shooting practice.
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