Tree Maximums - Genus of the Week: Betula (Birch)

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Genus of the Week: Betula

"No weather interfered fatally with my walks, or rather my going abroad, for I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow-birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines." - Henry David Thoreau

"Instead of calling on some scholar, I paid many a visit to particular trees, of kinds which are rare in this neighborhood, standing far away in the middle of some pasture, or in the depths of a wood or swamp, or on a hilltop; such as the black birch, of which we have some handsome specimens two feet in diameter; its cousin, the yellow birch, with its loose golden vest, perfumed like the first . . . " - Henry David Thoreau

Here's a sampling of Betula that can be submitted:

Betula alleghaniensis, Yellow Birch
Betula lenta, Sweet Birch
Betula neoalaskana, Resin Birch
Betula nigra, River Birch
Betula occidentalis, Water Birch
Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera
var. cordifolia, Mountain Paper Birch
Betula pendula, European White Birch
Betula populifolia, Gray Birch
Betula pubescens, Downy Birch


An excerpt from Jess's MaxList:

An excerpt from Kouta and Jeroen's European Height Records List: http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?f ... 482#p24064

An excerpt from the TALLEST EXAMPLES OF EASTERN NATIVE TREE SPECIES List, February 2004: http://www.nativetreesociety.org/bigtre ... e_list.htm

betula 3.PNG (9.14 KiB) Viewed 2996 times

Please reply with these measurement details if you think you've measured a specimen displaying the growth potential (Height, Girth, Spread, or Volume) of the species. Please include photos when possible.

Species (Scientific):
Species (Common):
Height (ft):
CBH (ft):
Maximum Spread (ft):
Average Spread (ft):
Volume (ft3):
Site Name:
Subsite Name:
Country:
State or Province:
Property Owner:
Date of Measurement:
Measurer(s):
Method of Height Measurement:
Tree Name:
Habitat:
Notes:

Tree of the Week Guidelines: http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?f=393&t=5221

Tree of the Week Forum: http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewforum.php?f=393

USDA Plants Database: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=BETUL

Don Leopold videos . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQlX2L_LiT0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQlX2L_LiT0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakXAMQqpPI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakXAMQqpPI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh7Vq3Enw3s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh7Vq3Enw3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMnfGWFt3DU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMnfGWFt3DU

- Matt Markworth

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Here is Josh's original post about the two massive Yellow Birches on Rocky Bald. Check out the difference in character of these two trees . . .

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldt ... nty_nc.htm

- Matt

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Here are the Maximum Heights for Betula . . .

Tree Maximums List: http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?f=393&t=5221

- Matt

[dbhguru]

Matt,

The listing of the 110-foot white birch in Mohawk Trail State forest can be deleted. I was never able to cofrim that measurement, and it is an improbable maximum for the species.

Bob

[Matt Markworth]

Thanks Bob. I replaced it with the 104.4 footer in MTSF and updated the chart.

My very first memory of a tree was a Paper Birch in my Grandmother's backyard. That paper bark sure was interesting to a 5-year-old.

- Matt

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Here is Will's original post on the tall Yellow Birch . . .

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldt ... _trees.htm

Back in the Smokies, I spotted a yellow birch on Jim Branch that looked quite tall even though it was an older tree with a flat crown. Just ~100 yards away grew the current eastern height record, which I originally thought this tree must be. But it was a different tree. I shot up with the laser from underneath and roughed it ~105'- then I realized my rangefinder was still in meters from an earlier plot with the Park Service! I went upslope and confirmed a 116.7' top on a 6'10" trunk.

- Matt

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Here's is Will's original post on the tall Betula lenta . . .

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldt ... update.htm

4'10" X 118.8' ENTS record height; 117.5' last year, still growing!

- Matt

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Here is Bob's post on Smith Brook that includes the girthy Paper Birch . . .

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldt ... _brook.htm

W. birch 93.3 6.2

- Matt

[Tyler]

Matt,

For spread,

Species (Scientific): Betula nigra
Species (Common): River Birch
Form (Forest, Open, or Intermediate): Forest
Height (ft): 89.3'
CBH (ft): 5' 8.5"
Maximum Spread (ft): 49.5'
Average Spread (ft): 46'
Volume (ft3):
Site Name: Great Pee Dee Heritage Preserve
Subsite Name: Near Hurricane Branch
Country: USA
State or Province: South Carolina
Property Owner: SCDNR
Date of Measurement: 3/10/2012
NTS Measurer(s): Tyler Phillips
Method of Height Measurement: NTS Sine
Tree Name:
Habitat: Forest
Notes:

Tyler

[Matt Markworth]

Hi All,

Here is Brian's post on the impressive River Birches at Croft State Park in SC. I'll add the two tallest trees to the Tree Maximums List to go along with the 97 footer that Jess measured at Big Creek in Georgia.

betula nigra river birch 84.0' 84.3' 85.2' 86.5' 88.1' 87.9' 88.6' 89.8'
90.4' 90.7' 90.8' 91.3' 91.9' 93.6' 94.6' 96.7'

http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=5947

Matt