The Birches 



grows in Terra del Fuego! Ten of these are North American, 

 seven or eight Asiatic, and six European. The white birch of 

 Europe extends through Asia to Japan, and is cultivated in many 

 varieties in America. 



American White Birch, Aspen-leaved Birch (Betula 

 populifolia, Marsh.) — Small, short-lived tree, 25 to 40 feet high, 

 with slender horizontal branches and tremulous foliage. Bark 

 chalky white or greyish, with triangular dark patches where 

 branches are or have been; not easily separated into layers; 

 white does not rub oflF on clothing; branches dark brown. IVood 

 light, soft, weak, close grained, not durable in contact with soil; 

 light brown; takes good polish. Buds slender, brown, I inch 

 long. Leaves alternate, simple, triangular, 2 to 3 inches long, 

 long pointed, double saw toothed ; dark green above, paler beneath, 

 yellow in autumn; teeth of margin glandular; petioles long, slim, 

 twisted. Flowers before leaves, April, monoecious; staminate in 

 terminal catkins, single, or paired, formed in previous summer; 

 pistillate catkins, ^ inch long, pale green, scales ovate. Fruits 

 cylindrical cones, i inch long, blunt at both ends, drooping; 

 scales downy, 3-lobed, side lobes large, spreading; nut oval, 

 pointed, with broad wing. Preferred habitat, dry, gravelly soils, 

 or borders of swamps. Distribution, Nova Scotia along coast to 

 Delaware; northwest to Lake Ontario. Uses: Graceful and 

 hardy ornamental tree; thrives in any soil, but rarely planted. 

 Wood used for spools, shoe pegs, v/ocd pulp and fuel. Valuable 

 nurse trees to hardwoods and conifers on land Nature is reforesting. 



The only native species with which this white birch might 

 be confused is the canoe birch. Look first at the bark. It is 

 chalky white and yellowish beneath, but the chalk does not rub 

 off. It is hard, close bark, which does not part into thin layers. 

 It is cracked in growth, and the short crevices are dark, making 

 the trunk look grey at a distance. Wherever a bud or branch has 

 been, a large, ever-widening black V brands the trunk and limbs. 

 Near the base of the trunk, the white bark is about all gone, 

 leaving a black, furrowed area that grows gradually higher. 



The foliage mass of the American white birch is much thinner 

 and lighter than that of the canoe birch. The leaves are small 

 and dainty, triangular, taper pointed, suggesting in shape and 

 tremulous poise the aspens or poplars. 



This is the one of our birches that most nearly resembles 

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