Betula nigra
Object Details
- Description
- As its common name implies, the river birch is most commonly found growing along streams, where it helps control erosion. It is an excellent landscaping tree, due to its curling creamy brown bark, better disease resistance than other birches, and ability to stand slight drought and flood. The river birch is also planted to reclaim land damaged by strip mining and control erosion. This birch produces many nutlets, which attract songbirds.
- This tree is Threatened in New Hampshire.
- Hardiness
- -30 - 30 F
- Attracts
- Birds; gypsy moth larvae
- Bloom Time
- April-May
- Medicinal / Pharmaceutical
- Leaves chewed or used as an infusion to treat dysentery. Infusion of bark was used to treat stomach problems and urination problems.
- Provenance
- Uncertain
- Range
- Central to E USA
- Habitat
- Low and medium elevations, most common along streams
- Topic
- Trees
- Living Collections
- See more items in
- Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection
- On Display
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Data Source
- Smithsonian Gardens
- Accession Number
- 2011-1427A
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Common Name
- River Birch
- Water Birch
- Red Birch
- Black Birch
- Group
- [vascular plants]
- Class
- Equisetopsida
- Subclass
- Magnoliidae
- Superorder
- Rosanae
- Order
- Fagales
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Genus
- Betula
- Species
- nigra
- Life Form
- Deciduous tree
- Average Height
- 40-70'
- Bark Characteristics
- Light brown to buff, paperlike. Exfoliating on young trees, scaly on older trees.
- Bloom Characteristics
- Brown and green catkins, unisexual, on the same tree. Male catkins form on twig tips in the fall and mature the following April or May. Female catkins develop with the leaves and open in early spring.
- Fall Color
- Yellow
- Foliage Characteristics
- Simple, alternate, oval-rhombic, base cuneate, doubly serrate, glossy green above, gray or blue-gray and pubescent beneath, with 7-9 paired veins. 1-3" long.
- Fruit Characteristics
- Winged, small, brown, and many. Mature in May to June.
- Structure
- Young: pyramid Mature: rounded
- Metadata Usage
- Not determined
- Record ID
- ofeo-sg_2011-1427A
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