Our Local Ecology The Land - Tree IdentificationBirch Trees Grey Birch - Betula populifolia (Marsh.)Other Common Names: Wire Birch, White Birch Water Birch, Swamp Birch, Birch. The grey birch, common throughout P.E.I., is a small tree, rarely over 35 feet in height and a diameter of 8 inches. The trunk is slender and usually extends undivided to the top of the open, pyramidal crown. The slender branches divide into many fine flexible branchlets that are inclined to droop. A characteristic mark of this birch is the triangular black spot beneath each branch. It is one of the first trees to spring up after a fire, and is found on dry gravelly or sandy soils, however, it sometimes is found on wet soils along the margins of streams and swamps. Grey birch exists in pure stands but is more commonly mixed with spruce, balsam fir, larch, white birch and poplar. Its wood is of little commercial importance being used locally for fuelwood and barrel hoops. DESCRIPTION LEAVES: Alternate, simple, triangular in outline, coarse and double-toothed, 2 to 3 inches long; dark green and shiny above, pale below. FLOWERS: April-May; uni-sexual, in separate catkins on the same twig; male usually solitary, formed the preceding autumn, female solitary appearing with the leaves. FRUIT: Autumn; a tiny two-winged nut, slightly narrower than its wings; borne in a drooping or semi-erect cone, about 3/4 of an inch long, the scales hairy, set nearly at right angles to the cone axis, with broad diverging lateral lobes; shed at maturity. TWIGS:- Very slender, shiny, reddish-brown, densely covered with whitish, wart-like glands. No terminal bud; lateral buds sharp-pointed, somewhat resinous, chestnut-brown, about 1/4 of an inch long. BARK: At first reddish-brown; becoming dull chalky white, or almost black at the base of old trees; does not peel easily. WOOD: Light, soft, not strong, fine textured, diffuse-porous; light reddish-brown with paler sapwood.
Yellow Birch - Betula alleghaniensis (Britton)Other Common Names: Curly Birch, Black Birch, Hard Birch, Tall Birch, Gold Birch, Red Birch, Silver Birch. Although yellow birch occurs scattered throughout the province, its main concentration is now confined to south-eastern P.E.I. The birch-dieback has taken a heavy toll of this valuable tree, especially the old mature ones. It averages 60 to 70 feet in height with a diameter up to 2 feet. The trunk is usually long and straight with little taper. The crown is short and relatively narrow. It grows on a variety of sites from rich, moist bottom-lands to the drier soils of hilltops and ridges. In this province it seldom occurs. in pure stands but is mixed with red and white spruce, hemlock, balsam fir, beech, sugar maple and red maple. Yellow birch takes its name from its yellowish bark, which is smooth on young trees. As they grow older the bark peels into papery curls. On very old trees it may become almost black and broken into flat plates. The wood is used for flooring, furniture, plywood, veneer and vehicle stock. DESCRIPTION LEAVES: Alternate, simple, oval in outline, sharp-pointed, coarse-double-toothed, 2 to 4 1/2 inches long; dark green above, yellow-green below. Distinguished from the other birches by having more than 8 lateral veins. FLOWERS: April-May; unisexual; borne in greenish catkins; male clustered, formed the preceeding autumn, female solitary, appearing before the leaves. FRUIT: Autumn, a tiny 2-winged nut, about as broad as the wings; borne in a stout, erect cone, 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, sometimes persisting an the tree over winter. Cone scales hairy, with ascending lobes. TWIGS: Slender, smooth or hairy. Yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, with a strong wintergreen taste. No terminal bud; lateral buds sharp-pointed, slightly hairy, chestnut brown, about 1/4 of an inch long. BARK: At first thin, smooth yellowish-brown; soon separating into thin papery curls. On old trunks thick, reddish brown to almost black and broken into large, flat plates. WOOD: Heavy, hard, moderately strong, fine-grained diffuse-porous; brown to reddish-brown with whitish sapwood. The Yellow Birch is the provincial tree of Quebec.
White Birch - Betula papyrifera (Marsh.)Other Common Names: Birch, Paper Birch, Canoe Birch, Silver Birch. White Birch, one of our more common hardwoods, is found throughout P.E.I. The birch-dieback of the late 1950's killed off a portion of our"old mature trees but the disease lessened in severity. It is medium sized tree 60 to 70 feet in height with a diameter up to 18 inches. In the woodlot, the trunk is-long and clear, often leaning and crooked. In the open it is short and the crown is large, composed of many stout limbs and ascending branches. It grows in pure stands, especially after afire, but more often is mixed with white and red spruce, balsam fir, grey birch, red maple and poplar. The wood is used mainly for lumber and fuel here, but is excellent for spoolwood, plywood and small turnery. DESCRIPTION LEAVES: Alternate, simple, mostly oval in outline, coarse and double-toothed, 1 1/2 to 4 inches long; dark green and smooth above, paler and more or less hairy below. FLOWERS: April-May, in uni-sexual catkins, the male formed the preceding autumn, the female appearing with the leaves, both on the same tree. FRUIT: Autumn, a tiny, two-winged nut, narrower than its wings; borne in a drooping cone, the scales with diverging lateral lobes usually shed at maturity. TWIGS: Moderately stout, hairy at first, becoming smooth shiny, reddish-brown, speckled with. whitish lenticels; no terminal bud; laterals sharp-pointed about 1/4 of an inch long, chestnut brown, slightly resinous, the scales slightly downy. BARK: Thin, smooth, at first dark brown, soon becoming shiny creamy-white to pinkish-white, easily separated into papery layers. WOOD: Moderately hard, heavy and strong, straight-grained, diffuse-porous; light reddish-brown with nearly white sapwood. The White Birch is the provincial tree of Saskatchewan.
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