FAMILY: BETULACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: ironwood

LEAVES: alternate, simple, deciduous; leaves pubescent, serrate margins; secondary veins often forked

FLOWER: monoecious, catkins; staminate catkins preformed

FRUIT: nutlets enclosed in papery sac; clusters resemble hops

TWIGS:

BARK: tan to gray, loose, shreddy

FORM: small tree, 30-50’ x 10” dbh

HABITAT: moist, well drained; absent from flood plains; common understory species

WETLAND DESIGNATION: facultative upland (FACU-); occasionally (1-33%) found in wetlands in the southeastern US

RANGE: eastern US

USES: limited use by wildlife; birds and mammals eat seeds, deer browse twigs

Brief Recognition Features:

1. loose, shreddy bark
2. leaves pubescent with serrate margins
3. secondary veins often forked