T 



RIVER BIRCH 



(Bctula Nigra) 



tHIS tree is known as red birch, river birch, water birch, blue birch, 



black birch, and simply as birch. The name red birch refers to 

 the color of the bark which is exposed to view in the process of exfolia- 

 tion. The trunk is constantly getting rid of its outer bark, and in doing 

 so, the exterior layers are rolled back, hang a while, and are gradually 

 whipped off by the wind. The new bark which is exposed to view when 

 the old is rolled back is reddish. Its color varies considerably, some- 

 times suggesting the tint of old brass, again it is brown, but people in 

 widely separated regions have seen fit to call the tree red birch because 

 of the color of its bark. The name black birch is not appropriate, 

 though the old bark near the base of large trunks may suggest it. No 

 reason can be assigned for calling it blue birch, unless the foliage in early 

 summer may warrant such a term. River birch and water birch are 

 more appropriate, as these names indicate the situations where the 

 species grows. It clings to water courses almost as closely as sycamore. 

 A favorite attitude of the tree is to lean over a river or pond, with the 

 long, graceful limbs almost touching the water. 



Nature seems to recognize the tree's habit of hanging over muddy 

 banks, and has prepared it for that manner of life. Seeds are ripe 

 early in summer when the rivers are falling. They are scattered by 

 myriads on the muddy shores and upon the water. Those which fall in 

 the mud find at once a suitable place for germination, and those whose 

 fortune it is to drop in the water float away with the current or they are 

 driven by the wind until they lodge along the shores, and the receding 

 water leaves them in a few days, and they spring up quickly. Before 

 the autumn or early winter high water comes, they are well rooted in the 

 mud and sand, ready to put up a fight for their lives. 



The provision is a wise one. If the seeds matured in the fall, 

 when water is low, they would be strewn along the low shores, and before 

 they could take root and establish themselves, the high water and the 

 ice of winter would destroy them. The seeds need mud to give them a 

 start in life, and they need that start early in summer. 



The range of river birch is less extensive than that of the other 

 important eastern birches, yet it is by no means limited. Its eastern 

 boundary is in Massachusetts, its western in Minnesota, and it adheres 

 fairly well to a line drawn between the two states. Its range extends 

 200 miles west of the Mississippi and covers most of the southern states. 

 It is found in an area of nearly 1,000,000 square miles, but is scarce in 



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