wangtree
A tree whose wood is very hard to chop. A wangtree is left standing and the axeman finds a tree that's less work. Hard wood, hickory or osage orange or sometimes a snag (a dead tree) that's dried hard and tough without rotting. The wood can used as a maul or a tool handle, but for most use, especially firewood, it is too hard to chop and not work the effort. The name may come from the sound and the scare when the axe wangs off the wood or it may come from the use of such wood as a maul, to wang on a gate post or remove a wheel.
