33 Three Together - Gray Birch - Red Pine - Quaking Aspen
Image of the Trees You are Viewing
This grouping of three different trees growing in such close proximity is unusual but not unique in Sunfish Lake Park. The detailed description on this page is for the Gray Birch (left side of group as viewed from path). Please use these buttons to view the specifics for 15-Red Pine (center) and 16-Quaking Aspen (right side) also found on this Tree Trek as individual specimens.
Basic Information about this tree
- Scientific Name: Betula populifolia
- Common Names: Gray Birch, Fire Birch, Old Field Birch, Poverty Birch, White Birch, Wire Birch
- Native
- Deciduous
- Branch Structure: Several trees may occur in a cluster, growing from the same root group. Black triangular bark patches on branch bases. Gray birch is a rapid grower (0.6 m per year).
- Sunlight / Moisture / Soil preference: Gray birch is a pioneer species that can tolerate multiple soil conditions. It grows best on moist, well-drained soil along streams, ponds, lakes, and swamps but also on dry sandy or gravelly soils. Gray birch can grow in inorganic soils of slopes and hillsides but growth is slow. Soils with high pH can cause chlorosis of the foliage. It grows easily in sun and partial shade but is shade intolerant.
- Flowering type: Gray Birch is monoecious, producing separate male (staminate) and female (pistillate) catkins on the same tree. Solitary male catkins (rarely 2 catkins) up to 3″ long occur at the tips of twigs; these catkins have a tendency to droop. Each male catkin consists of numerous male florets and floral bracts.
- Pollination strategy: Wind
- Age Estimate/ Health: Healthy, 10 years?
- Longevity: About 20 years
- Mature Size:20-40 ft tall by 10-20 ft wide
- GPS Coordinates N45.00329 W92.90240
Growth habit of roots: It often forms pure stands from seedlings and root suckers.
Mature Tree in Winter/ Summer
Leaves in Summer / Fall
Flowers - Monoecious - Female & Male on the same Tree
Winged seeds
The female flowers develop into small strobili resembling conifer cones. When these are mature, the tiny winged seeds “nutlets” are released and dispersed
Bark of Mature Tree
mages of trunk bark at early stage and mature stage: Gray birch can be distinguished from Betula papyrifera by its tight, non-exfoliating bark. Bark is chalky-white with black triangular markings.
Uses in Traditional and Modern Eras
Value for wildlife: Beavers and porcupines chew the bark of gray birch. Sapsuckers consume sap and songbirds consume the seeds. Ruffed grouse eat the catkins and buds. Snowshoe hare, moose, and white-tailed deer browse the twigs.
Utility for Humans: Gray birch is often used for fuel. It is also popularly used for woodenware such as spools, spindles, and other turned articles. Gray birch is an early colonizer of poor sites, road cuts, and burned areas. It is listed as a common associate of the aspen-birch and beech-birch-maple communities in the northeastern hardwood forest. However, it is not an indicator any particular habitat type.
Homeowner’s Corner: Gray birch is an attractive tree that is often used as a winter landscape plant or when space limitations require the use of trees with a smaller stature. It can also be planted as a nurse tree to protect more valuable pines in the landscape that require protection to become established. Birch leaf miner is a pest that is disfiguring to the foliage, but does not kill the plant. Gray birch can be susceptible to the bronze birch borer that can cut off sap flow and cause branches to die back. A healthy vigorous tree is much less susceptible to attack. The best way to prevent birch borer attack is to plant the birch in a cool, moist, shady location and to keep it healthy by watering and fertilizing when needed. A birch tree planted in a sunny exposed area may lose vigor and become weakened allowing the borers to become established.