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.
Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Betula lenta var. lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Betula lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-03-002:
Betula lenta
FAMILY
Betulaceae
COMMON NAME:
Sweet Birch, Cherry Birch, Black Birch, "Mahogany"
Click or hover over the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
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.
JK Marlow jkm0405i_37
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Leaves 2-ranked on short shoots, bases heart-shaped or rounded, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
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.
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.
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.
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_betula_lenta_2
June
Teeth on Betula's leaf margins more abundant than the main lateral veins, per Trees of the Southeastern United States.
JK Marlow jkm0411a_09
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Prominent horizontal lenticels on the bark of young trees, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
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.