Water Birch
Habit | tree
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Height: | ⇕ | 40 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 40. to 80 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 80. |
Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
Exposure: | ☼ | sun |
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Water: | ◍ | wet, moist |
Features: | ✓ | deciduous, fall color |
USDA Zones: | 3 to 9.5 |
Betula > |
nigra > |
L. > |
Water Birch, Red Birch or, River Birch (Betula nigra) is a common small birch native in flood plains or swamps in the 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 leaves are alternate, ovate, 5-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 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.
ExpandRead about Water Birch in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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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 use. A number of cultivars 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
References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Water Birch. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Water Birch QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)