Hiker's Guide to the Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Ricketts Glen State Park

*Yellow Birch (Betula allegheniensis* = B. lutea)** Height to 80 ft. Leaves 1 - 5 in, sometimes arising from spur shoots. Bark of younger, healthy trunks shiny and yellowish to coppery, becoming dull in age and poor health; with horizontal marks (lenticels) along which the bark peels in curly strips. Twigs have a distinct wintergreen odor and flavor when broken. Common throughout the Park. Yellow and Black birches are very similar, and may hybridize. Leaves rarely with the red velvet leaf mite (Aceria regulus) usually known from maples (Grandview Trail).
Black Birch (Betula lenta) Height to 75 ft. Leaves 1- 6 in; often arising in clusters from short spur shoots on the stem (p. 6). Bark dark gray, brown to black; with dark horizontal marks. Twigs have a distinct wintergreen odor and flavor when broken. Seen along the Old Bulldozer Road Trail (above Valley View), the upper portion of Mt. Springs Lake Trail, the Cherry Run Trail, the Ganoga View Trail, the Grand View Trail, and along the Shore of Mountain Springs Lake.
Gray Birch (Betula populifolia) Height to 30 ft; often shrubby, with more than one stem in a clump. Leaves 1 - 4 in. Bark dull white, with dark horizontal marks (lenticels) but bark not peeling as in Yellow Birch and White Birch (not found in the Park). Seen along the Mt. Springs Lake Road, and on Grand View Trail near the fire tower.
Ironwood, American Hornbeam, Blue Beech, Musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) Height to 40 ft. Leaves 1 - 5 in; very similar to Hornbeam. Bark distinctive: gray, thin, tight, and sinewy, reminiscent of muscular arms. Seen along the lowermost portion of the Falls Trail, and on the Ganoga View Trail.
Hornbeam, Ironwood, Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) Height to 40 ft. Leaves 1 - 5 in; very similar to Ironwood. Bark shreddy, brown. Fruits are dry bladders in clusters, similar to those of hops. Seen only near the picnic area north of Rt. 118, and on the Ganoga View Trail.