yellow birch

Betula alleghaniensis
Yellow Birch foliage
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Betulaceae Genus: Betula Subgenus: Betulenta Species: B. alleghaniensis
Binomial name
Betula alleghaniensis Britt.
Synonyms
B. lutea Michx.

Betula alleghaniensis (Yellow Birch), is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and southern Québec west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.

Yellow Birch bark

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 20 m tall (exceptionally to 30 m) with a trunk up to 80 cm diameter. The bark is smooth, yellow-bronze, flaking in fine horizontal strips, and often with small black marks and scars. The twigs, when scraped, have a slight scent of oil of wintergreen, though not as strongly so as the related Sweet Birch. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 6-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit, mature in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.

Betula alleghaniensis is the provincial tree of Québec, where it is commonly called merisier, a name which in France is used for the wild cherry.

The name "yellow birch" reflects the color of the tree's bark.^[1]

The wood of Betula alleghaniensis is extensively used for flooring, cabinetry and toothpicks. Most wood sold as birch in North America is from this tree. Several species of Lepidoptera use the species as a food plant for their caterpillars. See List of Lepidoptera that feed on birches.

References

1. ^ http://landscaping.about.com/cs/fallfoliagetrees/a/fall_foliage4.htm

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Betula allegheniensis

• Flora of North America: Profile and map: B. alleghaniensis
• NCRS: USDA Plants Profile and map: B. alleghaniensis
• Betula alleghaniensis images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu