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Home , Alder, Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana, Alnus serrulata, Betulaceae, Betula alleghaniensis

– FAMILY

Plant: some but mostly Stem: mostly smooth but not always, often peeling in layers in the : : ; simple, alternate, mostly elliptical, mostly double - toothed (biserrate), pinnate side veins straight; stipules present but dropping early : imperfect (monoecious), tiny and usually greenish; sepals 1-6, often 4 to none; petals none; male in , 1-6 : female in woody catkins, ovary inferior, 1 pistil : most often in catkins containing small nuts or nutlets or a double-winged capsule (samara), 1 seeded Other: identified in fossils back to ; Dicotyledons Group Genera: 6 genera, mostly temperate to boreal; locally Alnus (), Betula (birches), Carpinus (), Corylus (), (hop-hornbeam)

WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive and Fruit Morphology in the Betulaceae (Birch Family) - shrubs and trees, leaves simple, alternate and toothed; of staminate and pistillate catkins; locally 5 genera Betula Genus Alnus Leaf tips acute (taper to point), most with Fruit a woody cone, leaf peeling bark (Gray Birch an exception) tip more or less rounded

Speckled Smooth Alder

Genus Carpinus River Birch Gray Birch small, surrounded by Genus Corylus lobed , leaf elliptical with Genus Ostrya 10+ veins, smooth bark Leaf more ovate, sharp tip, fruit a large semi-spherical , < 10 Fruits small, veins surrounded by unlobed bracts, leaf elliptical to ovate with 10+ veins, scaly bark

Hop Hornbeam

Hazelnut American Hornbeam, Musclewood BETULACEAE – BIRCH FAMILY

European Alder; (L.) Gaertn. (Introduced) Speckled Alder; Alnus rugosa (DuRoi) Spreng. Common Alder; (Ait.) Wild. Yellow Birch; Britt. var. alleghaniensis River Birch; L. Paper Birch; Marsh. Gray [Wire] Birch; Marsh. American Hornbeam [Ironwood, Musclewood, Blue-]; Carpinnus caroliniana Walt. [American] Hazelnut [Hazel]; Walt. [Eastern; Hop] –Hornbeam; (P. Mill.) K. Koch var. virginiana European Alder USDA Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. (Introduced) Betulaceae (Birch Family) Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: to med (30 ft); both male and female catkins droop; leaf single to double-serrate (usually coarse), alternate, widest above middle, often blunt or somewhat notched at tip (variable), dark above holding into fall; bark speckled and with abundant horizontal ; true end , stalked, 2-3 bud scales, reddish; wet or low areas [V Max Brown, 2009] Speckled [Black, Tag] Alder USDA (L.) Moench ssp. rugosa (Du Roi) Clausen Betulaceae (Birch Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: shrub; both male and female catkins droop; leaf coarsely double-serrate, undulate, base usually U-shaped; bark speckled and with horizontal lenticels; true end bud, stalked, 2-3 bud scales, reddish; wet areas [V Max Brown, 2005] Smooth [Common, Hazel] Alder USDA Alnus serrulata (Ait.) Wild. Betulaceae (Birch Family) Sam A. Baker State Park, Wayne County, Notes: shrub; male catkins droop but usually not the smaller female; leaf edges finely toothed, base usually V-shaped; bark usually less speckled than others; true end bud, 2-3 bud scales, stalked, reddish; wet areas [V Max Brown, 2006] Yellow Birch USDA Betula alleghaniensis Britt. var. alleghaniensis Betulaceae (Birch Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: tree, both pistillate (long and hanging) and staminate (cones) flowers in catkins; leaves elliptical, 9-11 unbranched veins, irregularly toothed, smooth above; bark silvery to yellow-gray (not white), curling and peeling; twigs aromatic (wintergreen), mostly glabrous to somewhat pubescent; long and pointed; fruit a winged nut subtended by 3-lobed, pubescent ; spring [V Max Brown, 2006] River [Red] Birch USDA Betula nigra L. Betulaceae (Birch Family) Sam A. Baker State Park, Wayne County, Missouri Notes: tree; catkins usually erect; leaves mostly finely biserrate except near base, lateral veins 7-9, broadly V-shaped base; bark peals and curls easily and is often distinctive, orange (not white); twigs hairy early, glabrous at maturity; buds sessile, hairy especially toward tip, tend to narrow toward base; fruit a tiny samara; most abundant along streams (often planted) [V Max Brown, 2006] Paper Birch USDA Betula papyrifera Marsh. Betulaceae (Birch Family) Rushmore National Memorial and Park, Custer County, South Dakota Notes: tree; both pistillate (long and hanging) and staminate (cones) flowers in catkins; leaves elliptical, 3-7 lateral pairs of veins, serrate, vein axels hairy below; bark creamy (to pinkish) white and readily peels, short horizontal lenticels present; buds long and pointed; fruit a winged nut subtended by 3-lobed, pubescent or glabrous bract; spring [V Max Brown, 2014] Gray [Wire, White, Fire] Birch USDA Betula populifolia Marsh. Betulaceae (Birch Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: tree, often many-stemmed; fruiting catkins drooping; leaves long-pointed, triangle-shaped, sharply toothed, not hairy; mature bark white with large black chevrons at branch insertions, juvenile bark reddish with abundant horizontal lenticels, bark does not peel easily; twigs rough; buds small, long, often resinous; spring [V Max Brown, 2005] American Hornbeam USDA [Ironwood, Musclewood, Blue-Beech] Walt. Betulaceae (Birch Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: shrub to small tree; male and female catkins develop from buds; leaves bi-serrate, often long- pointed, side veins parallel and not forked; bark muscle-like or sinewy; buds angled, many-scaled in rows; fruit nutlets surrounded by 3-pointed, leafy bracts; spring [V Max Brown, 2005] [American] Hazelnut [Hazel] USDA Corylus americana Walt. Betulaceae (Birch Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: shrub; male catknins (upper right) mature in Feb-Mar, > 1 inch; leaves double-serrate but often irregular, < 10 veins, green beneath, acute tip; bark smooth, finely ridged with age; twigs +/- hairy; buds sessile, blunt, no true end bud, 4+ scales; fruit a large edible nut; often forms shrubby patches; spring [V Max Brown, 2005] [Eastern] Hop USDA Hornbeam [Ironwood] Ostrya virginiana (P. Mill.) K. Koch var. virginiana Betulaceae (Birch Family) Pokagon state Park, Steuben County, Notes: small tree; leaves biserrate, bases somewhat uneven, 10+ veins, some forked; bark scaly, in plates; twigs ± hairy; buds pointed, sessile, not angled, and round in cross-section; fruit in clusters, surrounding bracts not lobed; spring [V Max Brown, 2006]