( 107) 



The tree rarely attains a height of 60 feet. The oblong- 

 pointed leaf-blades are coarsely toothed on the margin, and 

 furnished with conspicuous tufts of hair on the under side 

 at the juncture of the principal veins. A small tuft of hair 

 tips the marginal teeth, when the leaves are very young. 



Before the tree becomes covered with foliage, the catkin- 

 like clusters of flowers bloom. The fruits follow, usually 

 maturing during the summer. The fruit consists of a small 

 nutlet completely enclosed by a bladder-like structure, and 

 in this it differs from the American hornbeam in which the 

 nutlet is surrounded by a small leaf-like wing. 



This tree prefers dry gravelly slopes and ridges and is 

 found growing wild from Cape Breton to Florida and west- 

 ward. It is common in the upper Hudson region particu- 

 larly near the country bordering the Catskills, becoming 

 scarcer southward. 



Gray Birch Betula populifolia 



The brilliant white bark of the gray birch and paper 

 birch serves at once to distinguish them from all the other 

 Hudson Valley birches. In the gray birch, or white birch as 

 it is often called, there are usually 2 to 5 trunks in a cluster. 

 The tree rarely exceeds 40 feet in height. 



The poplar-like leaves of the gray birch serve to dis- 

 tinguish it from the other white-barked birch. In the former 

 the leaf-blades are delta-shaped and the tip of the blade runs 

 out into a fine point. They are usually 2 to 3 y 2 inches long, 

 somewhat heart-shaped at the base, and the margins are 

 coarsely toothed; these large teeth are themselves more finely 

 toothed. 



About the time the leaves unfold the catkin-clustered 

 flowers bloom, followed subsequently, in the fertile flowers, 

 by the fruits. These are a collection of scales, each scale 

 enclosing a small winged seed. 



Many common articles are made from the gray birch and 

 it is extensively used in making charcoal. The tree occurs 

 freely from Quebec to Pennsylvania and Ontario. It is 

 common along the Hudson. 



