Betula nigra
Betula nigra
RIVER BIRCH
Betulaceae
E. North America
Location: map coordinates D-24 (southeast corner of basketball court on west side of MLK [Martin Luther King] Student Center), N 39°11'15'' W 75°32'31’’, (this tree not yet marked with a yellow dot on interactive map); S-9 (southwest corner of Ag Annex Building), N 39°11'8'' W 75°32'46''; and Z-17 (on Loop Road, west of DSU rear entrance gate), N 39°11'2'' W 75°32'41’’
Planting history:
D-24: variety Dura-Heat™, (B. nigra ‘BNMTF’). Planted 4/22/15 for Arbor Day, and DSU Tree Campus USA 2015 (5th year of certification (pending). Donated by DDA (Delaware Dept. of Agriculture).
S-9: planted with construction of Ag Annex, Human Ecology building, ca 2009.
Z-17: planting history presently unknown.
Description:
Native species, State Rank S5 (very common in Delaware)
RIVER BIRCH
Betulaceae
E. North America
Location: map coordinates D-24 (southeast corner of basketball court on west side of MLK [Martin Luther King] Student Center), N 39°11'15'' W 75°32'31’’, (this tree not yet marked with a yellow dot on interactive map); S-9 (southwest corner of Ag Annex Building), N 39°11'8'' W 75°32'46''; and Z-17 (on Loop Road, west of DSU rear entrance gate), N 39°11'2'' W 75°32'41’’
Planting history:
D-24: variety Dura-Heat™, (B. nigra ‘BNMTF’). Planted 4/22/15 for Arbor Day, and DSU Tree Campus USA 2015 (5th year of certification (pending). Donated by DDA (Delaware Dept. of Agriculture).
S-9: planted with construction of Ag Annex, Human Ecology building, ca 2009.
Z-17: planting history presently unknown.
Description:
- medium-sized deciduous tree
- etymology: Betula = latin name; nigra = black (the bark)
- leaves simple, alternate, toothed (doubly serrate)
- monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant); flowers small, in catkins
- fruit small, ovoid, winged (samara); mature late spring (unlike other birches, which generally fruit in autumn)
- bark papery and pinkish (on young trees)
- ornamental tree; form graceful, bark attractive; grows to ca 70 feet; highly resistant to bronze birch borer
- wood used to make artificial limbs, and children’s toys
- natural habitat is wet soil, stream banks; tolerates drier soils but then tends to be short-lived (30-40 years)
- southern tree, mainly; may be the most heat tolerant of the birches
Native species, State Rank S5 (very common in Delaware)
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