River Birch

Betula nigra

Betulaceae (Birch Family)

éê Mature trees

é yellow fall foliage color

é tan, peeling bark on younger trees

é bark on mature tree

é leaves

é ice storm damage from 2007 Springfield, MO ice storm-- river birch trees did not do well

    Location on campus:  in retention basin area south of Grand and Parking Lots #22 and #24

Betula nigra: River Birch

*·leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, rhombic-ovate with doubly serrate margins and pointed tip; medium to dark green and glossy above, glaucous underneath; 1.5-3.5" long and 2 to 2/3 as wide

*   stems reddish brown and pubescent when young, glabrous later, with many small lenticels

*    bark is tan, orange, salmon and exfoliating on young trunks, scaly gray-brown on older trunks; bark is main ornamental feature

 *    grows 40-70' tall with near equal spread in a pyramidal to oval habit

*   prefers full sun to part shade and moist, fertile, slightly acid soils, but can tolerate drier soils--  may shed some leaves early in dry summers

*   resistant to bronze birch borer

*   medium to fast growth rate

 *  native to Missouri