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Very tall, straight ones without any branches? Actually, after trudging through a forest of search results, we discovered that a number of different trees are used to make telephone poles. A poem about cedars lauds the trees for their weather-resistant wood and their use as telephone poles. We have no doubt retired telecommunications officer and poet Delmar Murray knew what he was talking about, but we searched for corroboration. According to the web site of one phone company, the most common type of tree used is the chestnut. Chestnut trees are fairly common and can grow
up to 100 feet. Their wood is strong, easy to work with, and rot-resistant, making them the ideal material for telecommunication poles. And at a woodworking web site, we learned that several types of pine trees are used as well. If you're interested in identifying the wood of a particular pole, look for a two-letter code that is either burned into the pole or noted on a metal plate. This identifies the type of tree that gave its life in the interests of clearer communication.
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