Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Betula lenta var. lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Sweet Birch at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Betula lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Betula lenta
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-03-002:
Betula lenta FAMILY Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Betula lenta
COMMON NAME:
Sweet Birch, Cherry Birch, Black Birch, "Mahogany"
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p24
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_239
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_bele_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_bele_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm240312_7691
March Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm150412_240
April Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140418_113005
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0405i_36
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Outer bark resembles Black Cherry; inner bark tastes like wintergreen, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_350
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
Stipules deciduous, distinct, per Flora of North America.
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmblenta_tuckaseegee1
May
Flowers tiny, staminate in drooping catkins near tip of twigs, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_b_lenta_sweet_birch_4
May
Once the primary source of wintergreen flavoring in medicines and confections, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow s040503_c
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Leaves mostly 2.5-4" long, heart-shaped at base, mostly glabrous, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm220605_8255
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210710_2043
July Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Leaves 2-ranked on short shoots, bases heart-shaped or rounded, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm210710_2044
July Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Scraped twigs aromatic; lenticels on twigs not raised or rough to touch, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4628
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4630
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Prominent horizontal lenticels on the bark of young trees, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0411a_09
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0511b_09
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Leaves a rich golden yellow in autumn, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow s051106_e2
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Leaf margins singly or irregularly doubly serrate, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Betula lenta var. lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Betula lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Betula lenta
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-03-002:
Betula lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Betula lenta
199
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: forests at low to high elevations; common (uncommon in Piedmont), per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, uncommon in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx minute, pistillate calyx absent
2 stamens in staminate flowers
Inferior ovary
Unisexual
Flowers in catkins (staminate catkins elongate)
FRUIT:
Summer
Samara
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p279
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p126
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p153
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p160
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p056
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p041
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p090
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p230
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p059
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p42
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p227
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p076
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