Click on the images help you identify a river birch.
Form
Height ranges from 40 to 60 feet, with a trunk diameter of up to 24 inches. Mature trees typically have a short trunk that divides into several large, ascending limbs, forming an open, irregular crown of slender, drooping branchlets.
Bark
The bark is dark brown at the base of old trunks and deeply furrowed. Higher on the main stem and on larger branches, it becomes lustrous reddish brown and peels more or less freely. Twigs are reddish with white dots, called lenticels.
Leaf
Leaves are simple, alternate on the stem, and measure 1 1/2 to 3 inches long. They are roughly triangular with double-toothed edges, dark green on the upper surface, and pale yellow-green on the lower surface. Leaves turn yellow in autumn.
Fruit (seed)
Winged nutlets are densely crowded into a cone-shaped catkin about 1 inch long. Nutlets ripen in late spring or early summer.
Range
Grows along rich bottomlands of streams and rivers in the southeastern corner of the state, especially in the Mississippi and Root River valleys. It is common along the Mississippi River as far south as Wabasha County and has also been reported near Mankato. The species is shade intolerant, moderately fast-growing, and generally considered a pioneer species.
Wood uses
The light brown, close-grained, hard, and strong wood is used in furniture manufacture. River birch is scattered in distribution and mostly confined to stream banks. It is also used for fuel, erosion control projects, and ornamental plantings. River birch is the only native birch resistant to the bronze birch borer.