wood identity

[Jack Camillo]

This stick is reportedly at least 150 years old. Can anyone identify the wood?

[Judy Kingery]

Jack, only hazzarding a guess here - looks like what we call a "Paradise Tree," here. Sticks, branches grow very straight; tree grows very rapidly and the leaves kinda smell musty or sulphury. Root base is real shallow. The inside wood is plain and milkly white. I haven't turned any nor messed with any, it seems very light, non-dense at all.

How heavy is the stick? Course 150 years old, unlikley to smell any wood odor as sometimes that could help you with an ID.

Anyway, I'm no expert on wood species, just looks familiar like some of our trees here.

Good luck,

Jude

[Jack Camillo]

thanks for your input. I don't have the stick myself - a friend sent me a picture since I'm a woodworker. I figured I'd toss the challenge out to "my people."

[greg bliss]

It looks like a blackthorn stick to me. In the second picture is a metal cap like what would be on the bottom of a cane, and blackthorn is famous for being used for walking sticks. It is also used to make shillelagh's, the traditional Irish fighting stick/club.

[Jack Camillo]

Thanks for the blackthorn suggestion and explanation. Notice also, if it's hard to see, that there are tacks or nails where the twiqs were cut off. Does it not look like the bark is still on it?

[greg bliss]

Yes it does. That is another reason I say it's blackthorn, because all the blackthorn walking sticks and shillelah's I've ever seen the bark is always intact.