BIRCH FAMILY 



Red Birch, B'iiil. 



\'r<!. Strobiles erect, 

 K' long. 



third of an inch long ; scales Ijright gieen, ovate, downy ; peduncles 

 tomentose, bibracteolate. 



Sirolnlcs. — Ripen in May and June ; cylindrical, olilong, erect, an 

 inch to an inch and a half long, half an inch thick. Scales oblong- 



obovate, hairy, three-lobed, 



lateral lobes shorter than the 

 central. Nut o\ nl, downy ; 

 wing as Ijroador broader than 

 the seed. 



Nearly every genus of 

 trees contains one species 

 that loves t li e water. 

 Among the maples it is the 

 Red, among- the ashes it is 

 the ISIack, among the oaks 

 it is the S\vam|i White and among tiie biixhes it is the Red. 

 Like other trees that grow from choice upon lands subject 

 t(j inundation, it i-ipeiis its fniit early and casts it broadcast 

 m June wlien streams are low. (lermination takes place at 

 once ; and each little seedling becomes several inches liigli 

 anil well established in life before the autmnn rains inundate 

 its birthplace and threaten its existence. 



Other birches lo\'e the north, cliiub to the mountain tops 

 ami make their wav well into the arctic regions ; but the Red 

 Rirch si,-eks warmth not cold, crowds to the water's very 

 edge and dips its |iendiilous branches into the quiet or run- 

 ning stream. It is the water nymph of the birches; and 

 reaches its greatest size in the damp misty lowlands of Texas 

 or among the baN'ijus of Louisiana or in the swamps of I^lor- 

 ida. And )'et it possesses ail the family ability of harmoniz- 

 ing with its environment and will grow rapidly in good soil 

 qtiite remote from water. 



The J<ed Rirch is a beautiful tree ; the bark of a full grown 

 trunk is dark. Jnit small stems and branchlets are really red 

 and in the sunlight are positively Itrilliaut. This red bark 

 easily sloughs loose and shows the paler bark J)eneatli. The 

 spray is ])articula]-ly delicate, the twigs and branchlets long, 

 flexible, and pendulous. 



308 



