Question: Hello! Thank you for providing this service. This fast-growing suckering sapling is in full sun in my yard: disturbed glacial-lake …
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Question
Hello! Thank you for providing this service. This fast-growing suckering sapling is in full sun in my yard: disturbed glacial-lake plain, several feet of sand atop heavy clay till. I live in Webster NY, so not exactly New England, but would like to know whether this tree is native to the Northeast. Scale is in inches. Photos are portrait, not landscape. Trunk is exfoliating. Only young leaves are shiny. None of it smells of wintergreen. Is it a type of birch? -- Barb
Answer
Dear kotbe, good afternoon. The woody plant you have photographed has evidently double-toothed leaves (big teeth with smaller teeth on them). This fits well for a birch called river birch (Betula nigra), which is both native and introduced in the northeast (it is frequently planted and can escape cultivation). Best wishes.
