Betula dahurica

Asian black birch or Dahurian birch is a member of the birch or Betulaceae family and is native to forests and mountain slopes in northeastern China, Manchuria, Korea and Japan. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree and can reach a height of up to 15 m.

• Crown is round, spreading; the tree often has multiple trunks.
• Leaves are ovate to elliptic, dark green, 5-10 cm long, with irregular, doubly serrate margins and lateral veins in 6-8 pairs. Leaves turn yellow in fall.
• Tree is monoecious, with drooping, brownish male catkins 5-7 cm long and female catkins upright, greenish up to 2.5 cm long, appearing in spring on the same tree. Most birches, including Dahurian birch, are self-incompatible, so at least two trees are needed to achieve production of seed.
• Female flowers are followed by drooping cone-like fruits containing numerous, small, winged seeds that typically mature in late summer.
• This tree is particularly noted for its showy, fissured, gray-brown bark which exfoliates in shaggy, paper-like curls with age.