Sweet Birch - Revision history

Raffi at 02:23, 9 February 2010

2010-02-09T02:23:00Z

Murali.lalitha at 15:24, 7 February 2010

2010-02-07T15:24:30Z

Raffi at 09:32, 5 April 2007

2007-04-05T09:32:00Z

New page

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Sweet Birch
| status = {{StatusSecure}}
| image = Betula lenta subsps lenta 01-10-2005 14.53.56.JPG
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Betulaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Birch|Betula]]''
| subgenus = ''[[Betula classification#Subgenus Betulenta - Wintergreen oil birches|Betulenta]]''
| species = '''''B. lenta'''''
| binomial = ''Betula lenta''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''Sweet Birch''' (''Betula lenta''), also known as '''Black Birch''', '''Cherry Birch''', '''Mahogany Birch''', '''River Birch''', or '''Spice Birch''' is a species of [[birch]] native to eastern [[North America]], from southern [[Maine]] west to southernmost [[Ontario]] and southern [[Michigan]], and south in the [[Appalachian Mountains]] to northern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].

It is a medium-sized [[deciduous]] [[tree]] reaching 20 m tall with a trunk up to 60 cm diameter. The [[bark]] is (unlike most birches) rough, dark blackish-brown, cracking into irregular scaly plates. The twigs, when scraped, have a strong scent of [[methyl salicylate|oil of wintergreen]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, ovate, 5-10 cm long and 4-8 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are wind-pollinated [[catkin]]s 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The [[fruit]], maturing in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged [[seed]]s packed between the catkin bracts.

Sweet Birch was used commercially in the past for production of oil of wintergreen before modern industrial synthesis; the tree's name reflects this scent of the shoots.

The [[sap (plant)|sap]] flows about a month later than [[maple]] sap, and much faster. The trees can be tapped in a similar fashion, but must be gathered about three times more often. [[Birch sap]] can be boiled the same as maple sap, but its syrup is stronger (like [[molasses]]).

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Betula lenta subsps lenta 01-10-2005 14.54.08.JPG
Image:Black_birch_bark.jpg|Birch bark
Image:Koeh-021.jpg|19th century illustration
</gallery>

== External links ==
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500250 Flora of North America: ''Betula lenta''] [http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=5742&flora_id=1 RangeMap:]
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/bele.htm ''Betula lenta'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]

{{Commons|Betula lenta}}

[[Category:Betulaceae]]
[[Category:Trees of Appalachia U.S.|Birch, Sweet]]
[[Category:Trees of Northeastern United States|Birch, Sweet]]
[[Category:Trees of Maine|Birch, Sweet]]
[[Category:Trees of Mississippi|Birch, Sweet]]
[[Category:Trees of Ontario|Birch, Sweet]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{SPlantbox
 |common_name=Sweet Birch
 |Temp Metric=°F
 |jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
-|image=Upload.png
+|image=Betula lenta subsps lenta 01-10-2005 14.53.56.JPG
-|image_width=240
+|image_width=180
 }}
 {{Inc|
-Betula lenta, Linn. (B. carpinifolia, Ehrh.). Cherry, Sweet, or Black Birch. Tree, 60-70 ft.: trunk dark reddish brown, young bark aromatic, of agreeable flavor: Lvs. oblong-ovate, usually cordate at the base, sharply and doubly serrate, hairy beneath when young, nearly&quot; glabrous at length, 2-5 in. long: cones ovoid- oblong, 1-1½ in. long; scales about tin. long, lobed only at the apex, the middle lobe slightly longer. From Maine to Ala., west to eastern Ohio. S.S. 9:448. H.T. 124, 125. Em. 232.—Very handsome tree, round- headed and with pendulous branches when older; attractive in spring, with its long staminate catkins. Bark and Lvs. largely used in domestic practice: branches and foliage yield an oil very similar to oil of wintergreen, and employed for all conditions in which the latter proves useful; bark as well as the oil much used for flavoring.
+Betula lenta, Linn. (B. carpinifolia, Ehrh.). Cherry, Sweet, or Black Birch. Tree, 60-70 ft.: trunk dark reddish brown, young bark aromatic, of agreeable flavor: Lvs. oblong-ovate, usually cordate at the base, sharply and doubly serrate, hairy beneath when young, nearly&quot; glabrous at length, 2-5 in. long: cones ovoid- oblong, 1-1½ in. long; scales about tin. long, lobed only at the apex, the middle lobe slightly longer. From Maine to Ala., west to eastern Ohio.—Very handsome tree, round- headed and with pendulous branches when older; attractive in spring, with its long staminate catkins. Bark and Lvs. largely used in domestic practice: branches and foliage yield an oil very similar to oil of wintergreen, and employed for all conditions in which the latter proves useful; bark as well as the oil much used for flavoring.
 }}
-{{Taxobox
+==Cultivation==
-| color = lightgreen
-| name = Sweet Birch
-| status = {{StatusSecure}}
+===Propagation===
-| image = Betula lenta subsps lenta 01-10-2005 14.53.56.JPG
-| image_width = 240px
-| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
+===Pests and diseases===
-It is a medium-sized [[deciduous]] [[tree]] reaching 20 m tall with a trunk up to 60 cm diameter. The [[bark]] is (unlike most birches) rough, dark blackish-brown, cracking into irregular scaly plates. The twigs, when scraped, have a strong scent of [[methyl salicylate|oil of wintergreen]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, ovate, 5-10 cm long and 4-8 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are wind-pollinated [[catkin]]s 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The [[fruit]], maturing in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged [[seed]]s packed between the catkin bracts.
+==Varieties==
-The [[sap (plant)|sap]] flows about a month later than [[maple]] sap, and much faster. The trees can be tapped in a similar fashion, but must be gathered about three times more often. [[Birch sap]] can be boiled the same as maple sap, but its syrup is stronger (like [[molasses]]).
+==Gallery==
-== Gallery ==
+<gallery perrow=5>
-<gallery>
+Image:Upload.png| photo 1
 Image:Betula lenta subsps lenta 01-10-2005 14.54.08.JPG
 Image:Black_birch_bark.jpg|Birch bark
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 </gallery>
-== External links ==
+==References==
-*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500250 Flora of North America: ''Betula lenta''] [http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=5742&flora_id=1 RangeMap:]
+<references/>
-*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/bele.htm ''Betula lenta'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
+*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
-{{Commons|Betula lenta}}
+==External links==
-[[Category:Betulaceae]]
+{{stub}}
-[[Category:Trees of Appalachia U.S.|Birch, Sweet]]
+__NOTOC__

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:24, 7 February 2010
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	{{SPlantbox
		+	\|common_name=Sweet Birch
		+	\|Temp Metric=°F
		+	\|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
		+	\|image=Upload.png
		+	\|image_width=240
		+	}}
		+	{{Inc\|
		+	Betula lenta, Linn. (B. carpinifolia, Ehrh.). Cherry, Sweet, or Black Birch. Tree, 60-70 ft.: trunk dark reddish brown, young bark aromatic, of agreeable flavor: Lvs. oblong-ovate, usually cordate at the base, sharply and doubly serrate, hairy beneath when young, nearly" glabrous at length, 2-5 in. long: cones ovoid- oblong, 1-1½ in. long; scales about tin. long, lobed only at the apex, the middle lobe slightly longer. From Maine to Ala., west to eastern Ohio. S.S. 9:448. H.T. 124, 125. Em. 232.—Very handsome tree, round- headed and with pendulous branches when older; attractive in spring, with its long staminate catkins. Bark and Lvs. largely used in domestic practice: branches and foliage yield an oil very similar to oil of wintergreen, and employed for all conditions in which the latter proves useful; bark as well as the oil much used for flavoring.
		+	}}
		+
	{{Taxobox		{{Taxobox
	\| color = lightgreen		\| color = lightgreen