Fifty Common Trees of New York 



29 



20. GRAY BIRCH 



Old-field Birch; White Birch, Poplar Birch 



(Betula populifolia Marshall) 



Gray birch must be classed with the aspens as one of New York's 

 •'weed" trees, being particularly abundant in the lower Hudson Valley 

 where it grows chiefly on dry, gravelly soils of burned-over areas and 

 abandoned farms. Though often con- 

 fused with the true paper birch, it is far 

 inferior to that species in size and value 

 of the wood. Its white bark renders it 

 more attractive than the aspens, and the 

 characteristic clump effect of its growth 

 is striking, particularly along streams. 

 The tree is short-lived and is rarely as 

 much as 8 inches in diameter. The wood 

 is light and soft, decaying quickly. In 

 New York it is used for fuelwood and 

 pulpwood only. 



Bark — on small stems, reddish brown 

 in color, becoming with age dull, chalky 

 white, not peeling off in papery layers 

 as in paper birch; with distinct black 

 triangular patch below each branch where it joins the stem. 



Twigs — slender, reddish brown in color, becoming dull chalky white 

 with age. 



Winter btids — small, smooth, pointed, brownish in color, in many in- 

 stances bending away from the twigs; end bud on the season's growth 

 not terminal. 



Leaves — alternate, simple, from 3 to 4 inches long, triangular in shape, 

 very long-pointed, shiny on upper surface, margin coarsely serrate. 



Fruit — a slender, erect, cone-like structure, % inch long, % inch thick, 

 on a short stalk ; consisting of winged nutlets and 3-lobed scales in alter- 

 nate layers ; both become detached from the central stem in late autumn 

 and winter. Seeds — minute, broad wings, spread by the wind. 



GRAY BIRCH 

 Leaf and twig, two-thirds natural 

 size ; fruit, natural size 



