Betula
nigra Linnaeus
Common
names: river birch, red birch.
Family: Betulaceae.
Brief
description:
A small to medium-sized, deciduous tree, commonly ranging from 1525
m (5080 ft.) tall when mature. Bark is salmon-pink to creamy white,
tan, grayish brown or reddish brown and separating in irregular sheets,
becoming dark brown and furrowed on older trees. Leaves are alternate,
relatively small (mostly 48 cm long), and more or less arrowhead
shaped. The leaf margins are variously toothed, except for the base
of the leaf blade, which is entire. Flowers are arranged in separate
male and female catkins that occur on the same tree, the dangling
male catkins forming during the summer and persisting on the tree
through the winter. Fruits are brown or tan, small (37 mm long) samaras
that are borne in dense, cylinder-shaped structures that look like
cones. (Botanically, however, these are not cones since, unlike the
conifers, the seeds are produced by small flowers.) River birch is
common along the rivers and streams of the Piedmont, sometimes hanging
far out over the water. Easily recognizable by its exfoliating or
roughly furrowed bark.
USDA
Profile
Herbarium
sheet images:
Live
specimen images:
Branchlet with
leaves Individual
leaf Branchlet with pistillate
flowers Branchlet
with buds and staminate catkins Close-up of bud and staminate
catkins