Found this on the edge of my property line where someone dumped it. I think it is beech but I'm not sure. You can't tell by the picture but the bark has a slight purple color. I cut it into blanks out of curiousity.
The bark looks similar to that of Birch. Does the bark in many thin layer and maybe you can even peel the layers?? That is how Birch bark grows. I'll keep checking in as I love these wood ID posts. Good Luck, Victor
Out here in NC the cherry bark looks like this but the wood is much darker (a pinkish-orangeish) color on the inside. I agree with Jason on that. I noticed you've cut out a few blanks, did you notice a cherry like smell when you were sawing it? That's one of the neat things I like about working cherry wood. Good luck with the ID, someone on this forum probably knows what you have there.
I'll have to go see if there are more pieces. I cut up this branch/trunk and did not notice any smell but my sense of smell is poor. My house is in the middle of 15 acres of wooded land and I don't think I have any trees whose bark look like this with the purple tint. It could be a small tree one of my neighbors cut from their yard and discarded the remains in my woods which is behind their back yard. Maybe I should take a piece of a limb to a local nursery. Thanks for the replies. I'll post if I get a positive ID.
i think it looks like a river birch. yes, they can be white, but can also have the purpleish color you describe seeing. it might also be an amur chokecherry (prunus virginiana) but that bark is usually more copper colored.
it also looks like european mountain ash, which does grow in most of tennessee although that's about the southern limit of it's hardiness zone.
that's a difficult one to ID, it looks like lots of different trees.