58 



Common Trees 



RIVER BIRCH 



Betula nigra, Linnaeus 



THE RIVER BIRCH is also called Red Birch and Water 

 Birch. It usually occurs on river banks or other watery 

 places. 



The leaves are simple, alternate, egg-shaped, 2 to 3 inches 

 long and wedge-shaped at base. 



The flowers ap- 

 pear about April, 

 are of two kinds. 

 The pollen - bear- 

 ing are arranged in 

 drooping tassels, 2 

 to 3 inches long. 

 The seed - produc- 

 ing occur in small 

 spikes about one- 

 third of an inch 

 long. 



The fruit is an 

 erect cylindrical 

 spike, 1 to 1^ 

 inches long. The 

 seeds ripen in early 

 summer with 3- 

 lobed scales. 



The bark is 

 reddish - brown to 

 cinnamon -red, 

 peels off in large 

 thick layers. On 

 old trees the bark 

 becomes thick and 

 deeply furrowed. 

 The twigs are reddish-brown and more or less hairy. 



The wood is strong, heavy, close-grained, reddish-brown 

 with white sapwood. It is used in the manufacture of wood- 

 enware, turnery, pulp, and chemicals. 



The River Birch extends farther south than any other of 

 our native birches. Its range is from Massachusetts to Min- 

 nesota and south to Florida and Texas. In New York this 

 tree is found locally in wet places in the lower Hudson valley 

 and other places in the southern and central parts of the 

 State. Exceptional trees reach a height of 80 feet and a 

 diameter of 4 feet. The River Birch may be called a soldier 

 tree, for it battles fiercely with the overflow waters of swollen 

 streams. It is of inestimable value as a protector of river and 

 stream banks. 



RIVER BIRCH 

 One-third natural size. 



