Did you know that the Center for Wood Anatomy Research, in Madison, Wisconsin,  will identify a maximum of five wood samples per calendar year as a free public service to U.S. citizens?

Wood identifications can take anywhere from 5 minutes to many hours, depending on the type of wood, the size and quality of the sample, the information provided with the sample, and several other factors. Generally, identifications will be completed 2-4 weeks following receipt of the sample for temperate woods and 2-6 weeks for tropical woods. Responses are hand-written on the letter sent with the request. Samples are held for 3 months and then discarded; small samples are often destroyed in the process and are not retained.

You can contact them by sending an eMail to Alex Weidenhoeft, Botanist: acwieden@wisc.edu