? Gray Birch
Gray Birches in winter
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Betulaceae Genus: Betula Subgenus: Betula Species: B. populifolia
Binomial name
Betula populifolia Marsh.

Gray Birch (Betula populifolia) is a deciduous tree native to North America. It ranges from southeastern Ontario east to Nova Scotia, and south to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It also has disjunct populations in Indiana, Virginia, and North Carolina. It prefers poor, dry upland soils, but is also found in moist mixed woodlands. It is a common pioneer species on abandoned fields and burned areas, but is short-lived. Image File history File links Gray_birch_against_gray_sky. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida- Dicots Liliopsida- Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Young castor oil plant showing its prominent two embryonic leaves (cotyledons), that differ from the adult leaves An example of a trimerous and non-eudicot flower: Magnolia Dicotyledons or dicots are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families included in the Kew list: Fagaceae - Beech family   (including Nothofagaceae) Betulaceae - Birch family Corylaceae - Hazel family Ticodendraceae not included in the Kew list: Casuarinaceae - She-oak family Juglandaceae - Walnut family Rhoipteleaceae Myricaceae The Fagales are an order of flowering plants, including some of the best known trees. ... Genera Alnus - Alder Betula - Birch Carpinus - Hornbeam Corylus - Hazel Ostrya - Hop-hornbeam Ostryopsis - Hazel-hornbeam Betulaceae, or the Birch Family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams and hop-hornbeams. ... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... Subgenus Betulenta - Wintergreen oil birches Bark on twigs rich in methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English Flower White trillium Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total  - Land  - Water    (% of total)  Ranked 4th 1... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Official languages None (English,French,Gaelic) Flower Trailing arbutus Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant-Governor Myra Freeman Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 11 10 Area Total  - Land  - Water    (% of total)  Ranked... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 160 miles (255 km)  - Length 280 miles (455 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,793 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq. ... Media:Example. ...

It grows quickly to 9 m tall and 0.3 m trunk diameter, with an irregular open crown of slender branches. The tree often has multiple trunks branching off of an old stump. The leaves are 5-7.5 cm long by 4-6 cm wide, alternately arranged, ovate, and tapering to an elongated tip. They are dark green and glabrous above and paler below, with a coarsely serrated margin. The bark is chalky to grayish white with black triangular patches where branch meets trunk. It is smooth and thin but does not readily exfoliate. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 5-8 cm long, the male catkins pendulous and the female catkins erect. The fruit, maturing in autumn, is composed of many tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts. The leaves of a Beech tree A leaf with laminar structure and pinnate venation In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants such as trees. ... Clivia miniata right hereflowers. ... A male catkin on a willow Male catkins on a Common Hazel in January before opening Catkins, or aments, are slim, cylindrical flower clusters, wind-pollinated and without petals, that can be found in many plant families, including Betulaceae, Fagaceae, Moraceae, and Salicaceae. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ...

Like other North American birches, Gray Birch is highly resistant to the Bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius). The wood is flexible and is used for spools and firewood. Binomial name Agrilus anxius Gory, 1841 The bronze birch borer Agrilus anxius is a wood-boring Buprestid beetle native to North America, more numerous in warmer parts of the continent and rare in the north. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood derives from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ...

Reference

• Little, Elbert L. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1980. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.

External links

• University of Connecticut Plant Database
• University of Florida Environmental Horticulture
• VT Dendrology