YELLOW BIRCH
Betula lutea, Michx.
Form.—Height 60-100 feet, diameter 2-4 feet; trunk short and usually forking near the base; crown rounded, open.
Leaves.—Alternate, solitary or in pairs, simple, 3-4 inches long, acute at apex, doubly serrate, dull green.
Flowers.—April; monoecious; staminate flowers in pendent purplish catkins; the pistillate in shorter, erect, greenish catkins.
Fruit.—Cone-shaped strobiles, 1 inch long and erect, scales of strobile downy on the back and edges; nut small, about as broad as its wing.
Bark.—Silvery yellow-gray, with thin, papery layers separating and often curling at the edges giving the trunk a ragged appearance; slightly aromatic, and bitter. Campers often use the loose outer bark for starting camp fires in wet weather.
Wood.—Heavy, strong, hard, close-grained light reddish-brown, with nearly white sapwood.
Range.—Newfoundland to Minnesota and south to North Carolina.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Frequent, especially in mountain sections, growing with spruce and hemlock; rare in low hilly parts of the State and in the Eastern Panhandle; found along streams and in other damp situations on the outskirts of its range.
Habitat.—Moist fertile uplands and along streams.
Notes.—This large birch is associated with other mountain species such as Spruce, Hemlock, Black Cherry, and Black Birch. It furnishes valuable lumber and is a rapid grower. The characteristic appearance of the bark, described above, will prevent the confusion of this tree with its close relative, the Black Birch.