water birch Betulaceae Betula occidentalis

Leaf:Alternate, simple, deciduous, ovate to diamond-shaped, 3/4 to 2 inches long, yellow-green above and initially sticky but becoming smooth, paler and glandular below. Margins distinctly serrated or doubly serrated, except near the base.
Flower:Species is monoecious; with both sexes borne in aments (catkins), male aments preformed and clustered, female aments usually solitary.
Fruit:A cylindrical papery strobile (cone) that disintegrates at maturity, 1 inch long, seeds are tiny winged nutlets.
Twig:Young twigs are green and sticky, but turn reddish brown and resin-dotted, eventually turn gray-brown and smooth.
Bark:Thin and smooth, but dotted with conspicuous lenticles, almost black when young, but turning reddish brown to copper-colored as it ages, older bark may loosen and curl but does not exfoliate.
Form:A loosely branched deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 40 feet tall and 1 foot in diameter.

leaf flower fruit twig bark form map

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