Dirr describes the leaves of Boxelder (Acer negundo) thus:

"Opposite, pinnately compound, 3 to 5 (7 to 9) leaflets, ovate or
lance-oblong, 2 to 4" long, coarsely serrate or terminal one lobed, bright
green above, glabrous, lighter green beneath and slightly pubescent or
eventually glabrous; petiole---2 to 3" long."

So I doubt it's Boxelder.

One of the best books I've found for keying out trees and shrubs is
'Peterson's Field Guide to Trees of North America'...

In answer to your question, no, Shagbark Hickory's bark only becomes more
shaggy with time..

Dave


"dstvns" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I have lots of trees in my yard. For years I never identified them,
or even appreciated what each tree provided in characteristics or
individuality to the forest.

But over the past few weeks I've been pursuing leaf identification at
a frantic pace, enjoying using the web and learning about the various
trees and their abilities. I learned about such trees as the tulip
poplar, sassafras, basswood, honeylocust, hornbeam, the difference
between red & white oaks and many others.

However, there is one tree that slightly eludes me. Around here It is
an extremely tall tree, sometimes even taller than the oaks. One was
hit by lightning or by wind and now over 30 feet of it hangs over the
forest, waiting to either survive a few more years or to finally rot
and collapse. From what I've found online it looks like it might be a
boxelder, since the 3-leaf poison-ivy-type leaf structure looks
similar, but my tree's 3-leaves were much smoother than the pictures
I've seen. There are no hickory nuts on it, so I can guess it's not
a hickory The bark is very light gray, but not as white as a white
oak's.

Also one more question - do shagbark hickory's ultimately lose their
shagginess and gain a tougher, thicker-looking bark? I am asking
because I've seed trees I thought were large hickories (3 foot dia
trunk), but did not have the shaggy bark of younger-looking hickories.


Thanks very much,
Dan
northwest NJ