Meet the River Birch, Betula nigra

Betula nigra (River Birch or Water Birch) is a species of birch native to the eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and east Texas. It is most often found on sandbars and islands in streams. It also grows on stream banks, lakeshores, and floodplains. These trees usually form their own thickets.

A fast-growing deciduous (loses its leaves) tree, it attains a height of 80, rarely to 100’, with a trunk up to 2',  rarely 5’, diameter.  It often has multiple trunks. You can see an example of one nearing maturity in the Community Garden; it is at the end near Artspace right on Terry Street. 

The attractive bark is variable, usually dark gray-brown to pinkish-brown and scaly, but in some individuals smooth and creamy pinkish-white, exfoliating (peeling) in curly papery sheets. The older the tree, the darker the bark.

River Birch Bark

The twigs are smooth (glabrous) or thinly hairy and odorless when scraped. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 1.5–3” long and 1.2-2.4” broad, with a double serrated (double toothed, meaning there are large teeth on top of smaller teeth) margin and five to twelve pairs of veins.

River Birch Leaves

River Birch has two different flowers: male and female. Male flowers grow in the fall. These catkins are reddish-brown and stay on the tree through the winter. In early spring these catkins bloom and produce lots of pollen. Female catkins grow in the spring and get wind-pollinated. The female catkins then turn into fruit, a cone filled with hairy seeds that travel by wind and water. The fruit is unusual among birches in maturing in late spring; it is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts. 

Male Catkins Above a Female Catkin

River Birch Fruit

While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its bark is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for landscape use. A number of cultivars with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and 'Dura Heat'; these are notable as the only white-barked birches resistant to the bronze birch borer Agrilus anxius.

Other trees and plants found growing with River Birch include: American Sycamore, Red Maple, Silver Maple, Black Willow, American Hornbeam, Yellow Poplar, Blackgum, Black Cherry, American Elm, Sugar Maple, Boxelder, Mockernut Hickory, American Beech, ash, Sweetgum, Pin Oak, American Basswood, and Buttonbush.  

Birch seeds are eaten by many birds, including Carolina Chickadee and Wild Turkey. Voles and shrews also eat seeds.

White-tailed Deer eat leaves and twigs. Beavers eat bark. Rabbits eat seedlings (baby trees).

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drill holes for birch sap. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, squirrels, and various insects drink sap as well.

Native Americans used the boiled sap as a sweetener similar to maple syrup and the inner bark as a survival food. It is usually too contorted and knotty to be of value as a timber tree, but is used for making children's toys and artificial limbs because of its strength.  It is also used for local enterprises such as the manufacture of inexpensive furniture, basket hoops, and turned articles.   Because of its tolerance to acid soils, river birch has been used successfully in strip mine reclamation and erosion control.

 

Plant Me, Please!

PS  I've been checking the planting each day.  So far the resident deer have not bothered any of the trees or shrubs.  Keeping fingers crossed!

Restoration Begins

Why a native plant restoration? 

Over time aliens have invaded the New World landscape.  Alien plants, that is.  Some made their way naturally via off-course or migrating birds, for example.  Some were no doubt imported from Asia in the time of the land bridge and before the invention of customs and immigration.  Our pioneer ancestors brought with them the things they needed to continue life as they knew it back on the old sod.  Whether herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, or trees, along with their livestock came the plant stuff of home.

Some of our best known and loved plants did not originate in the Americas.  The apple, for example, originated in Western Asia.  There are now thousands of varieties growing all over the world; they are not invasive.  Many other alien plants, however, are worse than useless, they are invasive and crowd out native plant species; in doing so, they deprive wildlife of their natural habitats, causing highly specialized species to become endangered.  An example of such an invasive plant is the multiflora rose, originally imported for grafting because of its vigor; its vigor is precisely what is wrong with it, for, although birds enjoy its tasty hips, it swarms over everything in its path.  You've seen it covering acres in June, up to the treetops, dripping small white blossoms, a pretty thing, but devious; it also harbors rose rosette disease, which can quickly infest and kill other roses.  The mighty American chestnut was brought down by a bark fungus that arrived on imported Asiatic chestnuts.  States spend millions of dollar year after year to control purple loosestrife, banned for purchase or sale in many states; it has spread and degraded wetlands across the country since the early 19th century when it arrived as a contaminent of European ship ballast.  Every state but Florida is infested.

In short, the invasion of noxious alien species wreaks a level of havoc on America's environment and economy that is matched only by by damage caused by floods, earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes, and wildfire. These aliens are quiet opportunists, spreading in a slow motion explosion. Every gardener and every person with an interest in a healthy environment needs to learn to recognize these aliens, avoid planting them, and participate in rooting them out.  For more information and an interim list of invasive plant species, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/265.html.

Our Story

After much planning and waiting for tree selection and delivery and the right time for planting, the Bay Avenue Native Habitat Restoration Project next to the old Winona Hotel* began.  Several volunteers convened at the site at 7:30 AM on Saturday, September 24, to receive the trees.  Paula Murphy and her little truck had already made two trips to DPW where the trees had been delivered.

The volunteers also included Village Trustee Lori Devlin, who initiated the Tree Committee and got the grant to purchase the trees.  The hard-working planting team included, in addition to Paula and Lori, Lori's husband John; Jo Miller, Jessica McAvoy; Village Arborist Ivan Frank; John Bogack; and Karen & Tom Ferb.  Anyone is welcome to join the committee; just ask Lori Devlin to be put on the mailing list to be notified of events and meetings.

Paula & Tom deerproofing--yes, deer live here!  Covering the trees with netting took longer than the actual planting.  We hope the advice we got was good and works.

Jessica on mulch duty.  Mulching helps conserve moisture in the soil.

Three of the trees were too big for Paula's truck and will be delivered later.  When they go into the ground, the total number of native trees and shrubs on the site will be 60.  A path winding through them has been staked out and will be mulched.  It is our dream to build a raised wooden walkway on it.  Along the way more native plant material will be added.

Liquidambar styraciflua, aka Sweet Gum.  That's Ivan Frank, Village Arborist at the rear right and the Winona at the left rear

Let me introduce you to our new trees, one at a time.  Today's tree Acer rubrum, red maple, also known as swamp, water or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It is the most common deciduous native on Long Island.  It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas. It grows to 30' to 50’ at maturity in 70-80 years and has a lifespan of about 150 years.  It is aptly named since its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. It is best known for its brilliant flaming crimson fall foliage.

Red  maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions, perhaps more so than any other tree in eastern North America. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor dry soils, and most anywhere in between. It grows well from sea level to about 3,000’.  With its attractive fall foliage and pleasing form, it is often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production as well as for its medium to high quality lumber.

A young specimen red maple in the landscape

An excellent specimen tree and one of the top five shade trees in use in its range, the red maple is suitable for planting in parks and urban areas (but not near paving) as well as home gardens.  For the smaller garden or in other tight areas, there are narrow cultivars.  The red maple is also suitable for bonsai.  Below is a list of some cultivars**.  Our new red maples are not cultivars; they are the native species, as are all the trees that have been planted in our native habitat restoration.

• 'Armstrong' - Columnar to fastigate in shape with silvery bark and modest orange to red fall foliage
• 'Autumn Blaze' - Rounded oval form.  The fall color is orange red and persists longer than usual
• 'Autumn Flame' - A fast grower with exceptional bright red fall color developing early. The leaves are smaller than the species.
• 'Autumn Radiance' - Dense oval crown with an orange-red fall color
• 'Autumn Spire' - Broad columnar crown; red fall color; very hardy
• 'Burgundy Bell' - Compact rounded uniform shape with long lasting, burgundy fall leaves
• 'Columnare' - An old cultivar growing to 70' with a narrow columnar to pyramidal form with dark green leaves turning orange and deep red in fall
• 'Gerling' - A compact, slow growing selection, itonly reaches 30 ' and has orange-red fall foliage
• 'October Glory' - Has a rounded oval crown with late developing intense red fall foliage. Along with 'Red Sunset', it is the most popular selection due to the dependable fall color and vigorous growth.
• 'Red Sunset' - The other very popular choice, this selection does well in heat due to its drought tolerance and has an upright habit. It has very attractive orange-red fall color and is also a rapid and vigorous grower.
• 'Scarlet Sentinel' - A columnar to oval selection with 5-lobed leaves resembling the silver maple. The fall color is yellow-orange to orange-red and the tree is a fast grower.
• 'Shade King' - This fast growing cultivar has an upright-oval form with deep green summer leaves that turn red to orange in fall.
• 'V.J. Drake' - This selection is notable because the edges of the leaves first turn a deep red before the color progresses into the center.

John Devlin working with Sassafrass, whom you will meet later

*The Winona restoration is ongoing; when complete, the building will house the Patchogue Village Department of Parks and Recreation.

**Cultivar:  A plant variety produced in cultivation by selective breeding and usually designated in the style Acer rubrum 'October Glory'.