Part 32

+Sweet Birch. Black Birch. Cherry Birch+

Betula lenta L.

HABIT.--A medium-sized tree 70-80 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-3 feet; slender, wide-spreading, pendulous branches, forming a narrow, rounded, open crown.

LEAVES.--Alternate in pairs, simple, 3-4 inches long and one-half as broad; outline variable, ovate to oblong-ovate; sharply doubly serrate, with slender, incurved teeth; dull, dark green above, light yellow-green beneath; petioles short, stout, hairy, deeply grooved above; aromatic.

FLOWERS.--April, before the leaves; monoecious; the staminate catkins 3-4 inches long, slender, pendent, yellowish; the pistillate catkins 1/2-3/4 inch long, erect or suberect, greenish.

FRUIT.--Ripens in autumn; sessile, glabrous, erect strobiles, 1-1-1/2 inches long and half as thick; scales glabrous; nuts slightly broader than their wings.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds about 1/4 inch long, conical, sharp-pointed, red-brown, divergent.

BARK.--Twigs light green, becoming lustrous, red-brown in their first winter; very dark on old trunks, cleaving off in thick, irregular plates. Resembles bark of Black Cherry. Inner bark aromatic, spicy.

WOOD.--Heavy, very hard and strong, close-grained, dark red-brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Scattered throughout the state; rare in the south, more abundant and of larger size in the north.

HABITAT.--Grows in any situation, but prefers moist, rocky slopes and rich uplands.

NOTES.--Hardy throughout its range. Easily transplanted.

1. Winter twig, × 1. 2. Portion of twig, enlarged. 3. Leaf, × 1/2. 4. Flowering branchlet, × 1/2. 5. Staminate flower, enlarged. 6. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 7. Fruiting branchlet, × 1/2. 8. Fruit, × 10.]

+BETULACEAE+

+Yellow Birch. Gray Birch+

Betula lutea Michx. f.

HABIT.--A tree 60-80 feet high and 2-4 feet in trunk diameter; numerous slender, pendulous branches form a broad, open, rounded crown.

LEAVES.--Alternate, solitary or in pairs, simple, 3-5 inches long and one-half as broad; ovate to oblong-ovate; sharply doubly serrate; dull dark green above, yellow-green beneath; petioles short, slender, grooved, hairy; slightly aromatic.

FLOWERS.--April, before the leaves; monoecious; the staminate catkins 3-4 inches long, slender, pendent, purplish yellow; the pistillate catkins sessile or nearly so, erect, almost 1 inch long, greenish.

FRUIT.--Ripens in autumn; sessile or short-stalked, erect, glabrous strobiles, about 1 inch long and half as thick; scales downy on the back and edges; nut about as broad as the wing.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds about 1/4 inch long, conical, acute, chestnut-brown, more or less appressed; bud-scales more or less pubescent.

BARK.--Twigs, branches and young stems smooth, very lustrous, silvery gray or light orange; becoming silvery yellow-gray as the trunk expands and breaking into strips more or less curled at the edges; old trunks becoming gray or blackish, dull, deeply and irregularly fissured into large, thin plates; somewhat aromatic, slightly bitter.

WOOD.--Heavy, very strong and hard, close-grained, light brown tinged with red, with thin, whitish sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Throughout the state, but more abundant and of larger size northward.

HABITAT.--Prefers rich, moist uplands, but grows in wet or dry situations.

NOTES.--One of the largest deciduous-leaved trees of Michigan. Easily transplanted, but not desirable as a street tree.

1. Winter twig, × 1. 2. Portion of twig, enlarged. 3. Leaf, × 1. 4. Flowering branchlet, × 1/2. 5. Staminate flower, enlarged. 6. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 7. Fruiting branchlet, × 1/2. 8. Fruit, × 3-1/2.]

+BETULACEAE+