View source for Betula lenta

{{Treatment/ID
|accepted_name=Betula lenta
|accepted_authority=Linnaeus
|publications={{Treatment/Publication
|title=Sp. Pl.
|place=2: 983. 1753
|year=1753
}}
|common_names=Sweet birch;cherry birch
|special_status={{Treatment/ID/Special_status
|code=E
|label=Endemic
}}
|basionyms=
|synonyms=
|hierarchy=Betulaceae;Betulaceae subfam. Betuloideae;Betula;Betula lenta
|hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Betulaceae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>subfamily</small>[[Betulaceae subfam. Betuloideae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>genus</small>[[Betula]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>species</small>[[Betula lenta]]</div></div>
|volume=Volume 3
|mention_page=
|treatment_page=
}}<!--

--><span class="statement" id="st-undefined" data-properties=""><b>Trees,</b> to 20 m; trunks tall, straight, crowns narrow. <b>Bark</b> of mature trunks and branches light grayish brown to dark brown or nearly black, smooth, close, furrowed and broken into shallow scales with age. <b>Twigs</b> with taste and odor of wintergreen when crushed, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, usually covered with small resinous glands. <b>Leaf</b> blade ovate to oblong-ovate with 12–18 pairs of lateral veins, 5–10 × 3–6 cm, base rounded to cordate, margins finely and sharply serrate or obscurely doubly serrate, teeth fine, sharp, apex acuminate; surfaces abaxially mostly glabrous, except sparsely pubescent along major veins and in vein axils, often with scattered, minute, resinous glands. <b>Infructescences</b> erect, ovoid to nearly globose, 1.5–4 × 1.5–2.5 cm, usually remaining intact for a period after release of fruits in fall; scales mostly glabrous, lobes diverging at or proximal to middle, central lobe short, cuneate, lateral lobes extended to slightly ascending, longer and broader than central lobe. <b>Samaras</b> with wings narrower than body, broadest near center, not extended beyond body apically. <b>2n</b> = 28.</span><!--

-->{{Treatment/Body
|phenology=Flowering late spring.
|habitat=Rich, moist, cool forests, especially on protected slopes, to rockier, more exposed sites
|elevation=0–1500 m
|distribution=Ont.;Ala.;Conn.;Ga.;Ky.;Maine;Md.;Mass.;Miss.;N.H.;N.J.;N.Y.;N.C.;Ohio;Pa.;R.I.;S.C.;Tenn.;Vt.;Va.;W.Va.
|discussion=<p><i>Betula lenta</i> is a dominant tree in the northern hardwood forests of the northern Appalachians and a valuable source of timber. It was formerly the chief commercial source of wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate), which is distilled from its wood. <i>Betula lenta</i> is most easily separated from <i>B. alleghaniensis</i> by its close bark and the glabrous scales of infructescences.</p><!--
--><p>Native Americans used <i>Betula lenta</i> medicinally to treat dysentery, colds, diarrhea, fevers, soreness, and milky urine, and as a spring tonic.</p>
|tables=
|references=
}}<!--

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-->{{#Taxon:
name=Betula lenta
|authority=Linnaeus
|rank=species
|parent rank=genus
|synonyms=
|basionyms=
|family=Betulaceae
|phenology=Flowering late spring.
|habitat=Rich, moist, cool forests, especially on protected slopes, to rockier, more exposed sites
|elevation=0–1500 m
|distribution=Ont.;Ala.;Conn.;Ga.;Ky.;Maine;Md.;Mass.;Miss.;N.H.;N.J.;N.Y.;N.C.;Ohio;Pa.;R.I.;S.C.;Tenn.;Vt.;Va.;W.Va.
|reference=None
|publication title=Sp. Pl.
|publication year=1753
|special status=Endemic
|source xml=https://bibilujan@bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-data-curation.git/src/bb6b7e3a7de7d3b7888a1ad48c7fd8f5c722d8d6/coarse_grained_fna_xml/V3/V3_345.xml
|subfamily=Betulaceae subfam. Betuloideae
|genus=Betula
|species=Betula lenta
}}<!--

-->[[Category:Treatment]][[Category:Betula]]