Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Betula nigra
FAMILY
Betulaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about River Birch at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Betula nigra
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Betula nigra
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-03-005:
Betula nigra FAMILY Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Betula nigra
COMMON NAME:
River Birch, Red Birch
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_241
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_beni_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_beni_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm120211_029
February Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow s060329_a
March Greenville County SC
Parking lot
)
JK Marlow s060405_a
April Greenville County SC
Parking lot
Staminate flowers in drooping catkins near twig tips, pistillate catkins upright & cylindrical, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_b_nigra_bark_1
May Talbot County GA
Bark peeling into thin papery layers on young trees, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_betula_nigra_3
May Suffolk County MA
Arnold Arboretum
Older bark darker grayish-brown, dividing into coarser, shreddy plates, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_b_nigra_bark_m_tree
September
)
Keith Bradley kab_betula_nigra_3755
September Lexington County SC
Three Rivers Greenway
)
Sam Pratt sbp_2769
September Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
Paul Thompson pstbetula_nigra
September?
The lateral veins are parallel. — Clemson Extension
)
JK Marlow jkm231123_6933
November Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
The crown oft has a helter-skelter look: scattered major branches & smaller slender crooked ones, per Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm231123_6941
November Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
Compare this November image with s060329_a (March) and s060405_a (April) above.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_betula_nigra_leaves_7
November
)
JK Marlow s041201_d
December Greenville County SC
Parking lot
Leaves triangularly ovate; bases truncate or angularly wedge-shaped, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Betula nigra
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Betula nigra
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Betula nigra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-03-005:
Betula nigra
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Betula nigra
201
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Riverbanks, streambanks, floodplains, sandbars, disturbed uplands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx minute, pistillate calyx absent
2 stamens in staminate flowers
Inferior ovary
Unisexual
Flowers in catkins (staminate catkins elongate)
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Samara
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p043
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p278
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p305
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p458
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p164
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p058
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p025
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p091
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p231
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p107
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p42
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p228
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p076
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