A Quest For Basswood (very picture heavy)

[Mistwalker]

A couple of days ago I read a piece on the hand-drill fire starting method somewhere and watched a video the poster did using a Mullein stalk for the spindle and Basswood for the hearth board. He got a coal really quickly and I have been wanting to do the the hand-drill method for some time now myself. I do know for sure that we have Mullein here, but it hasn't come up yet....I know. I keep watching and waiting as I have been studying this all winter and waiting for the chance to try it. Since I already know where the Mullein grows...I thought it best that I learn to identify Basswood trees in the wild and locate some while I am waiting on the Mullein. Yesterday was primarily a hunt for Basswood, and I'm pretty sure I've found some, but it was also a pretty nice day out in the woods.


I went to a 3 mile loop off of a section of the Cumberland trail that I've spent a lot of time hiking on. The loop is only about 3 miles long if you stay on the trail, but when you're constantly walking off of the trail looking up at the leaves of the surrounding trees that distance can easily double. I thought this would be a good place to start since the varying terrain types along that part offers a pretty good cross-section of most of the plants common too this area. The temp was great and the sky was clear. There are a lot of cool rock formations here.

And you see more things when you are actually looking up a lot, studying the shapes of all the leaves. These two pics aren't as good as I wish they were but I liked them anyway. This spider web is horizontal. The breeze was living it just enough sometimes to catch the sunlight, when it was down is was in shadow and nearly impossible to see. I was about fifteen feet over from me as the base of these rocks has a slope to it, and it was about 35 feet up, even the first shot was zoomed. The range, constant movement, and bright reflection off the web made for a challenging photo for the camera I had on me.

 

[Mistwalker]

It is a winding trail that crosses several streams with some larger than others, and for the most part under a tall shady canopy.

 

[Mistwalker]

I came upon an old friend. A very old Cottonwood Tree down on Bee Branch. A tree I have always enjoyed sitting against and resting, just listening to the babble of the water. The tree is pretty tall, and I left my pack sitting next to it's base for some perspective.

 

[Mistwalker]

There were several spider webs glowing in the sunlight breaking through small holes in the canopy. There will be fewer of those holes as the summer comes on.

I did notice that something has been effecting the Hemlocks, some of them had several holes about 3/8 inch in diameter in them.

There were several that had fallen some time back. It is interesting to note that. Hemlock produces hard knots at the base of the limbs just like pine trees, but they aren't filled will flammable resin that will take a spark. However they still don't seem to absorb water. I pulled one out of an otherwise soaking wet mass of punk wood, beat the wet rotten wood off of the hard knot and tried it for fire starting uses. The shavings from the core of it would not take a spark from a fire steel, but were dry enough to light with a flame.

I found this plant I want to I.D.

Then this little fellow kept fluttering around me in a clearing.

 

[Mistwalker]

There are lots of mosses in the mountains here.

There were several types of fungi out. Some I've never noticed before...and some were rather large.

 

[Mistwalker]

As for the Basswood I was looking for I do believe I've found some. It sure looks like the leaves and trunks I've seen of young trees in the pictures I've found on-line. Anyone one here familiar with it and know for sure one way or another from these pictures?

Now that I'm pretty sure it's in the local area it's time to find some larger trees so I can harvest some pieces big enough to fashion a hearth board from.

And then this little guy was on the sidewalk when I got back to my truck. It was a nice exhausting hike, I really enjoyed it and I hope you guys did too.

.

 

[brians]

Yeah, that looks like it. Should be almost milk-white inside with little visible grain. Carves wonderfully and takes stain evenly.

I used to harvest some Basswood on property I had in Ontario. If I remember correctly, the bark is relatively smooth and the leaves were very large. The local carving shop used to purchase 1 ft blocks for about $5 bucks a piece and resell them for $15-20 to the artists. I traded some for relief carving and carving "in the round" classes. It was a lot of fun

Great pics Mist.

 

[VA27]

A coupla years ago I went on the same quest. My first search came up empty. The next day I was working in the back yard and noticed my neighbor limbing a large tree in his back yard. I went over to visit and lo and behold the tree he was trimming was a huge basswood! Since that time I have avoided mowing the far corner of my yard and now have a small crop of young trees springing up!

Thar she blows! Congratulations! You have completed the first stage of your quest! Now you only need to find some bigger!

 

[Mistwalker]

Yeah, that looks like it. Should be almost milk-white inside with little visible grain.

I used to harvest some Basswood on property I had in Ontario. If I remember correctly, the bark is relatively smooth and the leaves were very large. The local carving shop used to purchase 1 ft blocks for about $5 bucks a piece and resell them for $15-20 to the artists. I traded some for relief carving and carving "in the round" classes. It was a lot of fun

Great pics Mist.

Thanks man, I haven't cut into any yet. I'm looking now for some larger trees...hopefully with may some still-attached dead limbs that aren't rotten. I,ve read how the stuff bought at the craft stores doesn't work well for hearthboards the way naturally harvested Basswood does. I am also looking over a few different parsels of wooded lands of friends and members of my family so I can harvest an entire tree if I find the one I want without breaking any laws in the process.

Thankyou, I'm glad you liked the pics.

 

[ratamahatta]

great pics buddy!!!!!

 

[Mistwalker]

A coupla years ago I went on the same quest. My first search came up empty. The next day I was working in the back yard and noticed my neighbor limbing a large tree in his back yard. I went over to visit and lo and behold the tree he was trimming was a huge basswood! Since that time I have avoided mowing the far corner of my yard and now have a small crop of young trees springing up!

Thar she blows! Congratulations! You have completed the first stage of your quest! Now you only need to find some bigger!

Thanks! I had spent two days studying photos on the internet and then went looking. It was great to find what I was pretty sure was Tilia. Even better was how. I stood at the point where the two ends of the loop meet up again and wondered which wat to go. I started down the path on the right a few feet, stopped and went back the other way...not really for any particular reason I'm aware of...and then found the Tilia tree 6 hours later as I was about 30 meters from that same point in the trail. So...I found what I was looking for, but still had a very enjoyable hike in the process.

I want to find some larger ones and see if there are any very small sapplings in the general area and maybe bring a couple home.

 

[adamajc]

Sure looks like you got yourself a (tilia americana), basswood or american linden. I have never tried it as a fireboard but the wood seems like it would be good, being it is very soft. I seem to do better with softer fireboards but thats just me. You also might want to try little leaf linden (tilia cordata) as the wood is almost the same. You will probably have better luck finding this guy in a urban setting as it is used as a street tree planting. It will look like a basswood with leaves about 2-3 inches in diameter.

 

[Mistwalker]

great pics buddy!!!!!

Thanks bro, glad you liked the pics!

Sure looks like you got yourself a (tilia americana), basswood or american linden. I have never tried it as a fireboard but the wood seems like it would be good, being it is very soft. I seem to do better with softer fireboards but thats just me. You also might want to try little leaf linden (tilia cordata) as the wood is almost the same. You will probably have better luck finding this guy in a urban setting as it is used as a street tree planting. It will look like a basswood with leaves about 2-3 inches in diameter.

Thank you for that information, I'll remember that on my next urban hike. In the video the guy got a coal really quickly using a Mullein stalk and Basswood hearth. He even did a nice close-up shot. I really think this is the wood I want to try first for the hand drill method with the Mullein stalk. Shoot if I don't get the hand drill right off it seems it could maybe be good for the bow drill method too.

 

[kgd]

Great pictures mistwalker. Hard to say for sure just because the leaves look very similar to the cottonwood which you showed is around your area. The difference is really in the bark. It is still furrowed but not to the same extent as the cotton wood. You also see little dimples in the bark. As others have said, the wood is great for carving. Works excellent with bowdrill, but I have found that I get as good results with cottonwood. I haven't had success with handrill from either cottonwood or basswood yet and I have the blisters to prove it too!

Good luck on the quest. I'd try harvesting a little, debark at home and cut it into sections and let her dry for about 3 weeks or so.

 

[Mistwalker]

Great pictures mistwalker. Hard to say for sure just because the leaves look very similar to the cottonwood which you showed is around your area. The difference is really in the bark. It is still furrowed but not to the same extent as the cotton wood. You also see little dimples in the bark. As others have said, the wood is great for carving. Works excellent with bowdrill, but I have found that I get as good results with cottonwood. I haven't had success with handrill from either cottonwood or basswood yet and I have the blisters to prove it too!

Good luck on the quest. I'd try harvesting a little, debark at home and cut it into sections and let her dry for about 3 weeks or so.

Thank you Ken, glad you enjoyed the pics, and thank you for that information as well. I'm thinking if I don't do well on the hand drill at least I know how to use the bow drill...and so it will still be good to know how to identify it.

Yes, there is a good bit of Cotton wood in the area and there are two that are down not far from that large one. I was kicking myself in the @ss for not taking a folding saw as there were a few solid Cottonwood limbs on downed trees off the trail but I'd rather quietly saw through it rather than chop through it or smack on it with another limb. In that part of the trail one of my larger knives could draw some funny looks and cause some phone calls. So...now I have an excuse to go back...as if I really needed one

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Looks like Basswood to me. Basswood quite often grows in clumps. And usually, in a clump, you find 1 or more dead trunks, so by harvesting them, you don't have to let it dry and also, you don't hurt the clump.

Also, I guess I should mention that Basswood is the source of one of the two most important fibre source plants for early peoples in my area. It's also a food (beverage) tree. Apparently, Basswood flowers make one of the best tasting herbal teas in the world, at least so says one of my plant books.

Forget waiting for Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), find some last year's Teasel. I much prefer Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris) (Dipsacus fullonum) to Mullein, but I'm going to quit promoting it, since nobody wants to hear. And yes, it should be in your area.

Good luck!

Doc

 

[Mistwalker]

Looks like Basswood to me. Basswood quite often grows in clumps. And usually, in a clump, you find 1 or more dead trunks, so by harvesting them, you don't have to let it dry and also, you don't hurt the clump.

Also, I guess I should mention that Basswood is the source of one of the two most important fibre source plants for early peoples in my area. It's also a food (beverage) tree. Apparently, Basswood flowers make one of the best tasting herbal teas in the world, at least so says one of my plant books.

Forget waiting for Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), find some last year's Teasel. I much prefer Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris) (Dipsacus fullonum) to Mullein, but I'm going to quit promoting it, since nobody wants to hear. And yes, it should be in your area.

Good luck!

Doc

Thanks Doc, I appreciate all that information. I may have to look into that tea. I understand the benefits of nettle tea...just not crazy about the taste. Ok, I'll look for Teasel too thanks, I thought when i read a post you did on it before that it was a plant more native to your colder northern environment and not here in the south. I just harvested some milk weed stalks as well. I am going to try several things.

 

[hollowdweller]

I have a lot of basswood on my place. There's a huge clump or two about a quarter mile above my house in my hollow. Then in the 15 acres I own across the creek there's a bunch of them on the creek bank and around. Mostly small ones.

 

[sicily02]

Great pics Brian, It looks like you had great time out.

Bryan

 

[Mistwalker]

I have a lot of basswood on my place. There's a huge clump or two about a quarter mile above my house in my hollow. Then in the 15 acres I own across the creek there's a bunch of them on the creek bank and around. Mostly small ones.

I have no idea how much or how little I may find here...I've only recently began looking and paying attention...I do know there is a lot more Cotton wood than I first thought now that I can more easily recognize it.

Great pics Brian, It looks like you had great time out.

Bryan

Thanks Bryan glad you liked the pics. It was a great day out.