Stop 6 on trail 1 A mature Birch tree
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The fruit is a small, compressed, laterally-winged nutlet produced in 1.5-inch-long catkins |
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Birch leaves |
Birch Tree
Betula Pendula
The family is widely distributed in temperate and arctic regions
of the northern hemisphere, reaching the southern hemisphere only in South
America. The family contains 6 genera and about 150 species. Birch trees of the family's representative genus produce close-grained wood
of uniform texture that is used in furniture, flooring, plywood, and veneers.
Birch beer, once popular, is derived from the sap. The bark of paper birch was
used by Native Americans to build canoes. Oil of wintergreen, once derived from
the bark of sweet birch, is now manufactured synthetically. They are short lived and after death are replaced by other
species. The pale wood is used mainly for charcoal and plywood. An oil extracted
from the trees is used in tanning Russian leather. The bark often peels off in
long, pale strips, and that of the paper birch, was used in the construction of
canoes, tents, and huts by North American Indians.
