General Description | A seldom grown birch because its bark is too dark to suit the taste of most people and the tree suffers in urbanized settings. Equally tall as broad, with small leaves and a red tint to a brown bark. It has been placed on the IUCN Red List as least concern. |
ID Characteristic | Lustrous dark green leaves and dark gray bark which breaks into large, thin, irregular scaly plates. Red tint in the brown bark means it’s a cherry birch. |
Shape | Broadly pyramidal with a rounded crown when mature. |
Landscape | Makes an excellent tree for naturalized areas and parks. |
Propagation | Birch seeds have low viability, but produce numerous nutlets; 1-2 million seeds per kg. Never plant the seed too deeply, as it needs to be moist, and germination occurs by exposure to light. Collect the seeds from the tree while the catkins are still green. |
Cultivation | Reaches its best development in deep, rich, moist, slightly acid and well-drained soils; however, is often found on rocky, drier sites. |
Pests | Leaf spots, leaf blisters, leaf rust, aphids, canker, dieback, wood-decay and mildew. |
Notable Specimens | Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. |
Habitat | Very acidic, damp soil, but can tolerate dry soils. Betula lenta grows up to 23 m (crown diameter) at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains. |
Bark/Stem Description | Stem is slender, light reddish brown, glabrous, shiny and contains a strong wintergeen flavour when chewed or smelled. Becomes almost black at full maturity with horizontal lenticles. |
Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Imbricate, conical, sharp-pointed, reddish brown, divergent and terminal. |
Leaf Description | Leaves are ovate-oblong and are 6-16 cm long. Leaves contain 10-13 vein pairs and are glossy dark green and glabrous above, paler beneath and hairy on the veins. |
Flower Description | Monoecious, 5-10 cm long, formed during summer and autumn the year before flowering. New buds are formed on new growth but don’t flower until the following year. The pistillate flowers are enclosed in the bud and are borne upright, while the male ca |
Fruit Description | Small winged nutlet, 2-4.5 cm long. |
Colour Description | Leaves are a lustrous dark green in summer which change to a golden yellow in autumn. Bark is glistening reddish brown to almost black on young trees and on mature trees it grows into a brownish black colour. |
Texture Description | Medium texture. |