Pop Quiz......

[ChrisF]

Just a bit of fun........can you name this wood (as in the type of tree from what it came.....not 'Trevor')  ??

It's not at all uncommon, in fact it's ubiquitous in the UK countryside.

[Bryan Milham]

One of the Prunus (plum family) would be my first guess.

[Redtails3]

Is it a wimp of wood?😂😂😂

[ChrisF]

Bryan.....know why you'd say that, but no, not ant sort of prunus.

Redtails.......no idea what you're on about but I'll have a double if whatever you're drinking 😆😆😆

[Wood spinner]

It could be dogwood , But I can't see the BARK 

[seventhdevil]

tulipwood liriodendron tulipfera

[ChrisF]

Wood spinner - ho ho!  Couldn't include the bark, it would be a giveaway......it's not very RUFF!!

Steve - nope.....much more common......in fact native, at least to parts of the UK.

[Les Symonds]

Some thoughts on this....

• 'Ubiquitous', so we should all be seeing this tree all over UK - certainly rules out the tulipwood!
• your hint that the roughness of the bark might be a give away - if it's as you say  (not very RUFF) then we're looking for a smooth barked tree
• the end grain appears to show the presence of a multitude of medulary rays, which suggests timber like oak or beech - they are both ubiquitous!
• the sample looks to be very pale at the heart, which looks right for oak, but it seems to be darkening towards the outside.....or is that a slight skim of the inner bark/cambium layer that is visible, in which case the colour could be right for oak
• you don't give us much idea of how big this piece is....I think it's fairly small and the growth rings are well spaced, which suggests to me that it's a young piece of branchwood rather than a quick-growing trunk of a soft species

That's my thought process.....I'll say it'a an oak

Les

[ChrisF]

Les - Nope 

It's a trunk section from a tree probably about 5 to 6 years old....ish.  The trunk was about 8" diameter.  The colouration is strong throughout the sapwood but slightly paler at the heartwood (that's all sapwood there, no cambium).  It fades rapidly (the freshly cut end of the log looked like a sliced red onion, 24 hours later no sign).

[Eric Harvey]

Going by the grain pattern and quick growth, my guess is Ash.

[ChrisF]

Going by the grain pattern and quick growth, my guess is Ash.

Nope - 

I may be wrong about the age - I'm guessing so could be well out.  It's not a fast grower, certainly slower than ash but maybe not as slow as oak.   It is a prolific seeder - we remove many small plantlets from beneath the one in our courtyard every year.  Throughout September we get its 'fruit' pinging all over the place.  Its beautiful when the leaves first appear in the spring, especially when backlit.

[rick_dobney]

Throughout September we get its 'fruit' pinging all over the place.  Its beautiful when the leaves first appear in the spring, especially when backlit.

Not exactly a native but going by the clue above could it be Cytisus (broom to give it it's common name), I won't chop ours down to check.
Usually a garden shrub larger specimens are used by cabinet makers apparently.
Rick

[Les Symonds]

Another ubiquitous tree whose bark would be a give away, and which fruits and grows lots of plantlets....Elder!
Les

[ChrisF]

Elder!

Nope 

Bit unfair really as it's really just a guessing game.  It's copper beech.  I've seen some similar but much fainter colouring in young branch wood from a very large mature tree but this is the first sapling I've seen and by far the strongest colouring.  Will be interesting to see how much, if any, remains in the final piece.

Does anyone know anything about this sort of colouring?  For example, why does it happen and why does it fade so rapidly when exposed to the air?  Or is it effectively in the moisture and fades as it evaporates?

[seventhdevil]

i should have put this in my first post as my second guess was going to be copper beech as it is usually pinky purple below the bark but only about a half inch thick. this is just one that has alot of purple in it.

it will fade a bit but i've turned a bit before and you could see the colour still once dry.