Yellow birch

Betula alleghaniensis

Foliage Type:

leaf

Arrangement:

simple, alternate

Distinguishing features: leaves - 3" to 4 & 1/2" long, 1 & 1/2" to 2" wide, oval to egg shaped leaves - petiole slender, pubescent, 1/2" to 3/4" long leaf margin - sharply doubly serrate leaves - sharply tipped ( may have an attenuated point), rounded base, unequal sides leaf surfaces - dull, dark green, glabrous above; pale yellow-green with tufts of pubescence in the axils of the principle veins below twigs - stem angled at each lateral bud bark - young stems are golden gray to bronze-colored, peeling horizontally into thin, curly, strips; eventually breaking up into reddish-brown plates on mature trunks

Habitats:	mesic sites wet mesic sites
Often confused with:	Paper birch Hop hornbeam Musclewood Beaked hazelnut
Ecological Value:	seeds and buds eaten by grouse, prairie chicken, squirrel twigs cropped by moose, deer, and hare great nesting trees for bears, raccoons and porcupines
Did You Know?	Yellow birch twigs are aromatic and have a wintergreen taste. seeds often germinate in decaying stumps, eventually leaving the roots exposed like stilts. reaches maturity in about 150 years, but may persist for 300 year
Uses / Ethnobotanical uses:	burls (growths from bacterial diseases) make great table tops sap and leaves provide oil of wintergreen good commercial use of wood, cabinets and furniture often stained for cherry or mahogany finishes