gray birch

The black or sweet birch (Betula lenta) has a bark similar to the gray birch, except that its color is dark gray.

Comparisons: The paper birch (Betula papyrifera) is apt to be confused with the gray birch, because both have a white bark.

Soil and location: The gray birch does best in a deep, rich soil, but will also grow in poor soils.

Here about Mullein Hill, this is sure to be a gray-birch home.

Besides the box elder and crab-apple seeds, the birds have eaten wild-cherry pits, poison-ivy berries, and gray-birch seeds.