RED BIRCH
Betula nigra, L.
Form.—Height, 50-90 feet, diameter, 1-3 feet; trunk usually short, dividing into two or three large ascending limbs; crown irregular, oblong.
Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 1½ to 3 inches long, round-ovate, acute, doubly serrate, sometimes cut or slightly lobed, deep green, pale yellow-green beneath.
Flowers.—April, before the leaves; monoecious; staminate formed in the fall and remaining over winter as short aments, usually in clusters of three and elongating in the spring to 2-3 inches; pistillate, short, erect, situated on twigs with the staminate flowers and back of them.
Fruit.—Cylindrical strobile, 1-1½ inches long; 3-lobed scales of strobile pubescent; nuts small, hairy, winged.
Bark.—On old trunks dark red-brown and rough, with deep furrows and broken ridges; on younger trees, lighter-colored, the outer papery layers separating freely into thin sheets and turning up at the edges.
Wood.—Light, rather strong, close-grained, light brown with pale sapwood.
Range.—New England, west to Missouri, and south to Florida and Texas.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Observed growing along the banks of the following rivers: Williams, Gauley, Greenbrier, New, Great Kanawha, Little Coal, Elk, Guyandot, Twelvepole, Big Sandy, Little Kanawha, Potomac, Shenandoah, Great Cacapon.
Habitat.—Banks of streams, occasionally on drier ground.
Notes.—A common name of this species, River Birch, signifies its preference for river borders as its habitat. While the tree is not important it serves to hold stream banks from falling in and at the same time adds much to the attractiveness of river scenery. The bark and leaves lack the aroma of some of the other birches.