How to ID wood

as long as you have a leaf then you can identify the wood type and sometimes I can tell by the bark . also there is a leaf app on smart phones .

If you need wood Id. Join up on hearth.com and ask there. It's a site just for woodburners. They can id most anything!

Lots of universities that have a forestry program have websites with tree identification sections. This is what I taught myself with.

If you are just looking for free wood, and don't care about the type then....

It's easy to tell the difference between deciduous and coniferous woods, that will sort out the bulk, the next is to smell the wood..... Elm, Horse Chestnut, Osage Orange, and Black Walnut have unmistakable odors even when seasoned. For your area there isn't much left that may not be good for the firebox.

Also an application for the smart phone to aid in identification..

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/i.d.-wood/id325838725?mt=8


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.edson.tresdev.woodencyclopediapro

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If your really really interested in learning or have an abundance of need get this.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=32448&cat=1,46096,46127&ap=1
Although I recommend finding just the book somewhere else. Maybe Amazon or Barnes and Noble.