Mystery plant 051

This tree grows in northern and central regions of North America.  Its range extends down through the Appalachian mountains into a few southern states.  When you can identify it, please leave a comment below with the common and scientific names — along with any personal story you may have about this tree.

051-a

Leaves in spring

051-b

Leaves in summer

051-c

Sap smells like wintergreen.

051-d

Fruits

051-e

Leaves in fall

051-f

Trunk of sapling

051-g

Trunk of young tree

051-h

Trunk of middle-aged tree

 

ANSWER (subsequently added to this post to facilitate the “search” function for these images): Yellow birch (Betula alleghanienis)

This entry was posted in Mystery plant. Bookmark the permalink.

8 Responses to Mystery plant 051

  1. Rhonda D says:

    Alnus serrulata, tag alder

  2. Tony Ward says:

    Yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis!

  3. Maggie says:

    Hi Angelyn,
    the mystery plant looks like a species of Birch, Betula sp?

  4. Mike Krebill says:

    Tony Ward is correct: it is Yellow Birch, Betula alleghaniensis.

  5. Tim says:

    In NH we call it paper or white birch. It’s really great for starting camp fires or wood stoves. I have even used the bark from dead trees for making a roof on a shelter to repel rain.

  6. Tim says:

    Oops forgot Betula alleghaniensis.

  7. Angelyn says:

    Yes, indeed, this is Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis). My favorite part of this tree — and the clincher when it came to identifying it — was the fragrance of wintergreen emitted by the scratched twig.

    Thanks, Tim, for sharing how you used the gifts from this tree.

Leave a Reply to Mike Krebill Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.