Identifying Characteristics
| Size/Form: | River birch is a medium-sized, deciduous tree that grows 70 to 80 feet tall and 15 to 30 inches in diameter. About 15 to 20 feet above the ground, the tree tends to divide into large, arching branches, forming an irregularly spreading crown. |
| Leaves: | The leaves are simple, alternately arranged and diamond-shaped, about 1 ½ to 3 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide. The leaf margin is doubly serrate, with the lower 1/3 entire and wedge-shaped. The leaf tip is acute. Leaf color is deep green above and paler below, with hairs underneath and on the flattened petiole. |
| Twigs: | The orangish-brown twigs are slender and smooth or slightly pubescent. Additionally, they lack a terminal bud. |
| Bark: | The bark is thick, shaggy, coarsely scaled and peels easily. It is a gray-brown color with a distinct salmon-pink tinge. Young twigs are reddish-brown, slender and hairy, and have a zigzag pattern due to the lack of a true terminal bud. |
| Flowers: | The river birch is a monoecious species. Both male and female flower are greenish-colored catkins. |
| Fruit: | The fruits are small, hairy, winged nutlets encased in a small, cylindrical cone-like structure on a slender stalk. |
| Similar Trees on the Florida 4-H Forest Ecology Contest List: There are a few other trees on our list that also have simple, alternate leaves with pinnate venation and serrate margins. |
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