# IS THIS CHERRY OR BIRCH? DRIVING ME CRAZY!



## JSMidwest (May 26, 2021)

Trying to figure out if this is cherry or birch? Any information would be so greatly appreciated!


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## redeared (Feb 7, 2019)

Cherry


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Cherry - welcome to the forum!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Looks like Poplar to me.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Wrong bark for Birch or Poplar. Based on the bark and grain colors, I think its Black Cherry:




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black cherry wood images at DuckDuckGo


DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.




duckduckgo.com


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

They aren't the same species. 

These are birch:


JSMidwest said:


> View attachment 427911


The other pics are a mix of birch and cherry (or not cherry).


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

So, my answer is ..... Yes and Yes.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

woodnthings said:


> So, my answer is ..... Yes and Yes.


Yep, me too. But when birch is stained cherry, it is really hard to tell the difference, but my vote is cherry.


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

pics 1,2,3 agree with birch, not cherry, wrong bark and not enough sapwood.

log pics, could be cherry. is cherry common in your area?

last pic, fas/finished board, is birch


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## Rick Christopherson (Jun 27, 2016)

You have logs from 2 different trees. The first bark picture shows birch bark. That's a textbook example of birch bark!! I have 100% confidence in that.

With a little less confidence, the second/third bark picture shows cherry bark. The only reason why I'm not 100% on this one is because older birch trees can also have a similar fractured bark appearance. Nevertheless, I think it is cherry.


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## JSMidwest (May 26, 2021)

difalkner said:


> Cherry - welcome to the forum!


Thanks 😊 🙏🏻 


woodnthings said:


> Wrong bark for Birch or Poplar. Based on the bark and grain colors, I think its Black Cherry:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


hey, thanks for the reply to my post. I thought there may have been two trees cut down together, and then noticed when looked that cherry can have bark that is like birch and that is like the potato chip type bark. What are your thoughts? The live edge in the photos I believe is from the log with the flakey bark not the birch type. ThAnks again 🙏🏻


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## JSMidwest (May 26, 2021)

TimPa said:


> pics 1,2,3 agree with birch, not cherry, wrong bark and not enough sapwood.
> 
> log pics, could be cherry. is cherry common in your area?
> 
> last pic, fas/finished board, is birch


 Hey thanks for the info, I’m in eastern central Indiana and we seem to have a nice mix of forestry in our area. I thought they were two different trees when I grabbed the logs for sure, and then I saw some photos with bark that was very similar to birch and also that flaky potato chip bark. Then I found a few characteristics between the two totally different looking logs. I’ll attach photos and tell me your thoughts


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## JSMidwest (May 26, 2021)

gj13us said:


> They aren't the same species.
> 
> These are birch:
> 
> ...


I thought that, but then found some similarities between the two totally different looking barks. Check out the photos I’ll attach


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## JSMidwest (May 26, 2021)

These pictures of the two different logs in the pictures, the one that looks like birch and the one that looks flaky and totally different, but I noticed upon looking closely both barks have features of the other. You can see the birch one has small bits of flaky and the flaky one if you look close has the lines faint of the horizontal marks. Thoughts? Could it be the two totally different logs are from different parts of the tree? Or maybe one younger one older next to each other. I would have never thought wood identification would be this difficult 😂 thanks everyone! So cool to have the ability to ask, and get this many knowledgeable responses. Thanks for the warm welcome


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## JSMidwest (May 26, 2021)

difalkner said:


> Cherry - welcome to the forum!


I also do believe you to be correct, do you think that there are two different trees or that the logs that have bark that looks more like birch is just a different part of the tree, thanks 🙏🏻


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## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

JSMidwest said:


> Trying to figure out if this is cherry or birch? Any information would be so greatly appreciated!
> 
> View attachment 427909
> View attachment 427910
> ...


Cherry


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

In post number 14 that bark looks like birch. I have never seen cherry bark in layers like that, so now, I really don't know what you have. Cherry around here doesn't have heavy bark and isn't layered. River birch, or as some call it paper birch, does have layered bark sorta like paper.


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## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

BigJim said:


> In post number 14 that bark looks like birch. I have never seen cherry bark in layers like that, so now, I really don't know what you have. Cherry around here doesn't have heavy bark and isn't layered. River birch, or as some call it paper birch, does have layered bark sorta like paper.


I said cherry at first. There is paper birch also in the pics, most pics are cherry. The logs are two different species, no way they came from the same tree.
mike


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## Peter Collin (Apr 15, 2020)

Once you have worked with cherry or birch, you will be able to tell them with your eyes closed. Black birch bark looks like cherry, but has a strong wintergreen aroma. Cherry, when fresh cut, has a nice fruity scent. But a broken twig off a live cherry tree has an unpleasant, earthy smell. There is a paper birch log in your photos that can not be confused with either.


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## Clyde4g (10 mo ago)

Cherry I believe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jay_L (Oct 16, 2020)

An easy way to distinguish cherry from birch is to apply a splash of lye. It’ll turn cherry a deep iodine-burgundy color vs turning birch yellow.

Below illustrates lye on cherry…if you don’t have any lye, sodium hydroxide oven cleaner will work.


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