Black Birch
Betula lenta L.
Also known as Sweet Birch or Cherry Birch.
Mature Size: 50 to 60 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in diameter.
Form: Straight trunk and rounded, spreading crown.
Habitat: Grows best on moist, rich slopes, especially those facing north and east, but occasionally found on drier, rocky slopes.
Leaves
Alternate, simple, oval to oblong, 2½ to 5 inches, with doubly toothed edges; leaf stems hairy; tufts of hair near midveins on the undersides of the leaves.
Flowers
Males in persistent ¾ to 1 inch green catkins near the end of the twig; females in upright, ½ to ¾ inch catkins, green tinged in red, appearing in spring.
Fruit
Cone-like, scaly, brown, 1 to 1½ inches long, containing very small 2-winged nutlets.
Bark
Shiny reddish-brown, with prominent horizontal pores; on older trees, nearly black, dull, breaking into large irregular, but not papery, plates.
Twigs
Slender, reddish brown, covered with pores, with a strong wintergreen smell when cut; buds two toned, green and brown; spur shoots present on older trees.
Values and Uses
The wood is hard, heavy and close-grained. It has been used for lumber, veneer, furniture, cabinets, woodenware, boxes, handles and paper pulp, and at one time, it was sold as "mahogany" for furniture and interior trim. Wintergreen oil and flavoring (now artificially manufactured) were once obtained from the wood, bark and sap of this tree. The buds, young twigs and catkins provide food for deer, grouse and squirrels.
Did You Know?
Birch trees can be "tapped" in spring for their sap, which is used to make birch beer.
