Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds conical, ¼ inch long, mostly appressed, tips of scales brownish. Leaves simple, in alternate pairs or scattered singly along the stem; 3-5 inches long, ½-2 inches wide, dull green on both sides, paler beneath and more or less pubescent on the straight veins; outline oval to oblong, for the most part doubly serrate; apex acuminate or acute; base heart-shaped, obtuse or truncate; leafstalk short, grooved, often pubescent or woolly; stipules soon falling.
Inflorescence.—April to May. Sterile catkins 3-4 inches long, purplish-yellow; scales fringed: fertile catkins sessile or nearly so, about 1 inch long, cylindrical; bracts 3-lobed, nearly to the middle, pubescent, lobes slightly spreading.
Fruit.—Fruiting catkins oblong or oblong-ovoid, about 1 inch long and two-thirds as thick, erect: nut oval to narrowly obovate, tapering at each end, pubescent on the upper part, about the width of its wing.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; grows in wet or dry situations, but prefers wet, peaty soil, where its roots can find a constant supply of moisture; similar to the black birch, equally valuable in landscape-gardening, but less desirable as a street tree; transplanted without serious difficulty.
Differences between black birch and yellow birch:
Black Birch.—Bark reddish-brown, not separable into thin layers; leaves bright green above, finely serrate; fruiting catkins cylindrical; bark of twigs decidedly aromatic.
Yellow Birch.—Bark yellow, separable into thin layers; leaves dull green above; serration coarser and more decidedly doubly serrate; fruiting catkins ovoid or oblong-ovoid; flavor of bark less distinctly aromatic.
