General Description | Betula costata is a birch tree with peeling bark and serrated leaves. This tree has been placed on the IUCN Red List as least concern. |
Notable Specimens | RHS Garden Rosemoor, North Devon, England. |
Habitat | Mixed forests at an altitude of 600-2,500 m. |
Bark/Stem Description | Greyish-brown, peeling, papery, old bark is scaly. Glabrous reddish-brown branches. |
Leaf Description | Ovate, 5-8 cm, finely and acutely biserrate, base rounded or slightly heart-shaped to wedge-shaped, light green beneath. Veins are prominent and paired oppositely. |
Flower Description | Catkins are ellipsoid to subglobose, 2 cm. |
Fruit Description | Nutlet 2.5 mm in size, obovate and glabrous with wings 1/2 the nutlet's width. Produced July through September. |
Texture Description | Wood is coarse and cracks easily. |