Betula nigra
UConn Plant Database
River Birch is the most
common birch tree
in our area. Most birches prefer colder climates to the
North. River Birch grows up to
80 feet tall. Its life is short compared to most trees, but
it grows fast. River Birch does not tolerate
shade and does best in moist soils. The leaves
of River Birch are simple and somewhat diamond-shaped. They
are medium to dark green and are double-toothed
(means it has smaller teeth on top of large teeth). River
Beech leaves turn yellow in the fall. The bark
of this tree varies according to its age. Young River Birch
has a silvery gray bark, with light reddish-brown patches.
Older trees have dark reddish-brown bark, sometimes almost
black. UConn Plant
Database UConn Plant
Database UConn Plant
Database Ohio Division of
Forestry, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Ohio Division of
Forestry, Ohio Department of Natural
Resources River Birch has
two different flowers:
male and female. Male flowers grow in the fall.
These catkins
are reddish-brown and stay on the tree through the
winter. In early Spring these flowers "bloom" and
produce lots of pollen.
Female catkins grow in the Spring and get
pollinated.
The female catkins then turn into fruit. River Birch
fruit is a cone,
a little over an inch long. The cone is filled with
hairy seeds
which travel by wind and water. River Birch usually grows
near water. It is most often found on sandbars and islands
in streams.
It also grows on streambanks, lakeshores, and floodplains.
These trees usually form their own thickets. Other trees and plants
found growing with River Birch include: American Sycamore,
Red Maple, Silver Maple, Black Willow, American Hornbeam,
Yellow Poplar, Blackgum, Black Cherry, American Elm, Sugar
Maple, Boxelder, Mockernut Hickory, American Beech, ash,
Sweetgum, Pin Oak, American Basswood, and
Buttonbush. Birch seeds are eaten by
many birds, including Carolina Chickadee and Wild Turkey.
Voles and shrews also eat seeds. White-tailed Deer eat
leaves and twigs.
Beavers eat bark. Rabbits eat seedlings (baby
trees). Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
drill holes for birch sap.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, squirrels, and various
insects
drink sap as well. UConn Plant
Database
