Betula nigra (River Birch)

Betula nigra (River Birch) is a bushy deciduous tree prized for its incredible peeling bark. Salmon-pink, smooth and shiny at first, the bark flakes and curls in cinnamon-brown to blackish sheets. Vigorous and fast-growing, this birch has a large, pyramidal, upright habit and bears diamond-shaped, glossy green leaves with silvery undersides, which turn yellow in fall. In spring, tiny yellowish-brown male flowers appear in drooping catkins while greenish female flowers appear in upright catkins. The female flowers give way to drooping cone-like fruits containing numerous small winged seeds.