Yellow Birch
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Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis, synomym B. lutea), is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and southern Quebec west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.
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.
Yellow Birch is the provincial tree of Quebec, 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.
The wood of the yellow birch is extensively used for flooring, cabinetry and toothpicks. Most wood sold as birch in North America is from this tree.
External links
- [Flora of North America: Profile and map: B. alleghaniensis]
- [NCRS: USDA Plants Profile and map: B. Alleghaniensis]
- [Betula alleghaniensis images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
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