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{{Taxobox
{{SPlantbox
| color = lightgreen
|familia=Betulaceae
| name = Water Birch
|genus=Betula
| status = {{StatusSecure}}
|species=nigra
| image = Birch blossom.jpg
|taxo_author=L.
| image_width = 240px
|common_name=Water Birch, River Birch
| image_caption = River birch with male [[catkin]]s, <br/>[[Johnsonville, South Carolina]]
|habit=tree
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
|habit_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
|Min ht box=40
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
|Min ht metric=ft
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
|Max ht box=80
| familia = [[Betulaceae]]
|Max ht metric=ft
| genus = ''[[Birch|Betula]]''
|height_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
| subgenus = ''[[Betula classification#Subgenus Neurobetula - Costate birches|Neurobetula]]''
|lifespan=perennial
| species = '''''B. nigra'''''
|life_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
| binomial = ''Betula nigra''
|exposure=sun
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
|sun_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|water=wet, moist
|water_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|features=deciduous, fall color
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=3
|usda_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|max_zone=9.5
|image=Birch blossom.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_caption=River birch with male [[catkin]]s
}}
}}
'''Water Birch''', '''Red Birch''' or, '''River Birch''' (''Betula nigra'') is a common small [[birch]] native in [[flood plain]]s or [[swamp]]s in the [[Eastern United States|eastern]] [[United States]] from [[New Hampshire]] west to southern [[Minnesota]], and south to northern [[Florida]] and east [[Texas]].
'''Water Birch''', '''Red Birch''' or, '''River Birch''' (''Betula nigra'') is a common small [[birch]] native in [[flood plain]]s or [[swamp]]s in the [[Eastern United States|eastern]] [[United States]] from [[New Hampshire]] west to southern [[Minnesota]], and south to northern [[Florida]] and east [[Texas]].
It is a small [[deciduous]] [[tree]] growing to about 25 m tall at most. The [[bark]] is very variable, usually dark gray-brown to pinkish-brown and thickly scaly, but in some individuals, smooth and creamy pinkish-white, exfoliating in curly papery sheets. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, ovate, 5-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are wind-pollinated [[catkin]]s 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The [[fruit]] is unusual among birches in maturing in late spring; it is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.
It is a small [[deciduous]] [[tree]] growing to about 25 m tall at most. The [[bark]] is very variable, usually dark gray-brown to pinkish-brown and thickly scaly, but in some individuals, smooth and creamy pinkish-white, exfoliating in curly papery sheets. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, ovate, 5-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are wind-pollinated [[catkin]]s 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The [[fruit]] is unusual among birches in maturing in late spring; it is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.
{{Inc|
Betula nigra, Linn. (B. rubra. Michx.). Red or River Birch. Tree 50-90 ft.: bark reddish brown, or silvery gray on younger branches, separating into numerous thin, papery flakes: branchlets pubescent: petioles scarcely ½in. long: Lvs. rhombic-ovate, acute, doubly serrate, pubescent when young, at length only on the veins beneath, pale or glaucescent beneath, 2-3½ in. long: cones 1-1 ⅔ in. long, cylindrical, ripening in May or June; scales pubes cent, with erect, linear-oblong, nearly equal lobes. From Mass, south to Fla. and west to Kan. and Minn.— A moisture-loving, graceful tree, with slender, very numerous branches, and remarkable for its torn and ragged bark.
}}
==Cultivation==
While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its [[bark]] is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for [[landscape architecture|landscape use]]. A number of [[cultivar]]s with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and 'Dura Heat'; these are notable as the only white-barked birches resistant to the [[bronze birch borer]] ''Agrilus anxius'' in warm areas of the southeastern United States of America.
While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its [[bark]] is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for [[landscape architecture|landscape use]]. A number of [[cultivar]]s with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and 'Dura Heat'; these are notable as the only white-barked birches resistant to the [[bronze birch borer]] ''Agrilus anxius'' in warm areas of the southeastern United States of America.
===Propagation===
===Pests and diseases===
==Varieties==
==Gallery==
<gallery perrow=5>
Image:Riverbirch 8003.jpg|''Betula nigra'' Trunk, showing the bark pattern typical of most wild trees
Image:Betula nigra Heritage.jpg|The cultivar 'Heritage', selected for its white bark, here in fall leaf colors
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:Upload.png| photo 3
</gallery>
==References==
<references/>
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 -->
<!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 -->
<!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 -->
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/beni.htm ''Betula nigra'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
*{{wplink}}
{{commons|Betula nigra}}
{{stub}}
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