Betula davurica Pall.

Берёза даурская, чёрная /Daurian birch, Asian black birch

Сем. Берёзовые - Betulaceae

This birch is easier to recognize by the bark or by the crown's shape, and not by leaves.

It has unique bark distinguished from any other Far Eastern birches or from any deciduous tree. Young trees have pinkish, reddish or brown bark silky to the touch. The old bark is dark-gray, occasionally even blackish, cracking and exfoliating in thin layers at the crests between cracks.

The crown's shape is oval or egg-shaped with the upwards and inward directed branches.

It has a height of 25 m and trunk diameter of 50-70 cm.

It grows in the oak-woods and oak-cedar forests. It reaches elevations of 300-400 m above sea level.

Thrives in sunny locations and is fairly winter hardy.

Distribution in the Russia's Far East. Primorsky Krai, Southern and Southwestern Khabarovsky Krai, Amurskaya Oblast.

General distribution. Transbaikalia, Eastern Mongolia, Northeastern China, Korean Peninsula.

Authors: M.N. Chipizubova, L.M. Pshennikova

Photo: L. Pshennikova , Chipizubova M., N. Razzhigaeva

Collage: E.V. Bibchenko