RIVER BIRCH
(Betula nigra)
Leaves: Simple, alternate, 1½″-3″ long, dark green above, yellow-green below, wedge-shaped at the base, margins usually with large teeth.
Twigs: Slender, at first greenish and hairy, later turning reddish brown, smooth; with pale horizontal lines ([lenticels]). Buds sharp-pointed and shiny, smooth or slightly fuzzy.
Fruit: Similar to [sweet birch].
General: Bark reddish brown or cinnamon, peeling off in curled, shaggy strips; on older trunks becoming dark colored and rough. Medium-sized tree; found almost entirely along the lower reaches of our larger streams. Wood lighter, softer, and less valuable than [sweet birch] and yellow birch.
PAPER BIRCH
(Betula papyrifera)
Leaves: Simple, alternate, 2″-3″ long, oval, sharply toothed, dark green above, lighter below.
Twigs: At early age greenish and fuzzy, later turning dark gray; irregularly marked with raised orange colored dots ([lenticels]). Buds dark brown, sticky. Immature male [catkins] at the ends of the twigs in autumn and winter, as is true of all the birches.
Fruit: Similar to [sweet birch]. Mature in July.