FLOWERS.—April, before the leaves; monoecious; the staminate catkins clustered or in pairs, 3-4 inches long, slender, pendent, brownish; the pistillate catkins about 1-1/2 inches long, slender, erect or spreading, greenish; styles bright red.
FRUIT.—Ripens in autumn; long-stalked, cylindrical, glabrous, drooping strobiles, about 1-1/2 inches long; scales hairy on the margin; nut narrower than its wing.
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud absent; lateral buds 1/4 inch long, narrow-ovoid, acute, flattish, slightly resinous, usually divergent.
BARK.—Twigs dull red, becoming lustrous orange-brown; bark of trunk and large limbs cream-white and lustrous on the outer surface, bright orange on the inner, separating freely into thin, papery layers, becoming furrowed and almost black near the ground.
WOOD.—Light, hard, strong, tough, very close-grained, light brown tinged with red, with thick, whitish sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.—Lansing and northward. Common in central Michigan as a small tree. Of larger size in the Upper Peninsula.
HABITAT.—Prefers rich, moist hillsides; borders of streams, lakes and swamps; but is also found in drier situations.
NOTES.—A rapid grower in youth. The bark is used by the Indians and woodsmen for canoes, wigwams, baskets, torches, etc.