Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Common forest trees of North Carolina

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Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • >-££go<«|>~S ^>-^%=<XJt>-S -e>-^g^<K?§>-e -<&-#ggp*33^-r«S -&-m><% RIVER BIRCH (Red Birch) (Betula nigra L.) THIS is the only native birch found at low elevations in the South. It is at home, as the name implies, along water courses, and inhabits the deep, rich soils along the borders of streams, ponds, lakes, and swamps which are sometimes inundated for weeks at a time. The bark provides a ready means of distinguishing this tree. It varies from reddish brown to cinna- E1VER BIRCH One-third natural size. mon-red in color, and peels back in tough papery layers. These layers persist on the trunk, presenting a very ragged and quite distinctive appearance. Unlike the bark of our other birches, the thin papery layers are usually covered with a gray powder. On older trunks, the bark on the main trunk becomes thick, deeply furrowed, and of a reddish-brown color. The leaves are simple, alternate, 2 to 3 inches long, more or less oval in shape, with double-toothed edges. The upper surface is dark green and the lower a pale yellowish green. The flowers are in catkins, the two kinds growing on the same tree. The fruit is cone-shaped about 1 inch long, and densely crowded with little winged nutlets that ripen from May to June. The wood is strong and fairly close-grained. It has been to some extent used in the manufacture of woodenware, in turnery and for wagon hubs. Since, however, this tree is scattered in its distribution and mostly confined to the banks of streams, it does not figure largely in commercial lumbering, but is cut chiefly for firewood. 28
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).