Betulaceae - Birch Family
"A Year With the Trees", Tree Number 14
Black Birch
Betula nigra
Winter
This tree has a wonderful aroma of wintergreen whenever you scratch a twig.
The tree usually grows up to 80 feet high with a diameter of 1-2 feet.
The bark is shiny, dark brown or black, smooth; on older trunks the bark becomes fissured into scaly plates.
The twigs are dark brown, slender, and hairless.
The birch cones, that may remain on the tree in the winter months, are about 1 inch long. They are oblong, brown, and upright.
Collect Birch Twigs to take into a sauna with you in the tradition of the Russians and Scandinavians. Birch twigs are used to stimulate circulation and increase the vitality of the skin by tapping and brushing the twigs on your skin.
Birch oil has been used in making oil of wintergreen, candy, and medicine. The sap has been used in making Birch Beer. I will be making birch tea come spring.
Spring
Summer
The Summer Sweet Birch is filled with the wintergreen smell inside of the new twigs . I just made another pot of sweet birch tea to drink.
The leaves have grown some and darkened a bit since spring; however they still have the same elliptical, saw toothed look that I saw in the spring. The bark is very distinctive on this tree. It is not the typical river birch or yellow birch bark. This bark has a tight blackish color with small horizontal lines running through it.
Fall
The Sweet Birch tree stands out in the woods this time of year. It changes to this incredible yellow before any other tree turns yellow. This happens in North Carolina, where I live, in late September and early October. So, if you are walking in the woods and see brightly yellow-colored leaves , it is most likely Sweet Birch. You can verify this by scratching the twigs, if you smell a strong wiff of wintergreen; it is even more likely to be Sweet Birch.
For the love of the trees,
Becky
"A Year With the Trees", Tree Number 14
Black Birch
Betula nigra
Winter
The tree usually grows up to 80 feet high with a diameter of 1-2 feet.
The bark is shiny, dark brown or black, smooth; on older trunks the bark becomes fissured into scaly plates.
The twigs are dark brown, slender, and hairless.
The birch cones, that may remain on the tree in the winter months, are about 1 inch long. They are oblong, brown, and upright.
Birch oil has been used in making oil of wintergreen, candy, and medicine. The sap has been used in making Birch Beer. I will be making birch tea come spring.
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| The Black or Sweet Birch |
Spring
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| Add caption |
Summer
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| The Sweet Birch leaves in the Summertime. I scratched a bit of twig and could smell the wintergreen scent. |
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| Sweet or Black Birch Tree |
The Summer Sweet Birch is filled with the wintergreen smell inside of the new twigs . I just made another pot of sweet birch tea to drink.
The leaves have grown some and darkened a bit since spring; however they still have the same elliptical, saw toothed look that I saw in the spring. The bark is very distinctive on this tree. It is not the typical river birch or yellow birch bark. This bark has a tight blackish color with small horizontal lines running through it.
Fall
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| Black Birch Tree in October |
For the love of the trees,
Becky
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| Black Birch Bark |
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