North American Birch Tree Identification

Most everyone has some recognition of the birch tree, a tree with light-colored white, yellow, or grayish bark that often separates into thin papery plates and is characteristically marked with long horizontal  dark raised lines (also known as lenticils). But how can you identify birch trees and their leaves in order to tell different types apart? Characteristics of North American Birch Trees Birch species are generally small- or medium-sized trees or large shrubs, mostly found in northern temperate climates in Asia,  Europe, and North America.  The simple leaves may be toothed or pointed with serrated edges, and the fruit is a small samara—a small seed with papery wings. Many types of birch grow in clumps of two to four closely spaced separate trunks. All North American birches have double-toothed leaves and are yellow and showy in the fall. Male catkins appear in late summer near the tips of small twigs or long shoots. The female cone-like catkins follow in the spring and bare small winged samaras that drop from that mature structure. Birch trees are sometimes confused with beech and alder trees. Alders, from the family  Alnus, are very similar to the birch; the principal distinguishing feature is that alders have catkins that are woody and do not disintegrate in the way that birch catkins do. Birches also have bark that more readily layers into segments; alder bark is fairly smooth and uniform. The confusion with beech trees stems from the fact the beech also has light-colored bark and serrated leaves. But unlike the birch, beeches have smooth bark that often has a skin-like appearance and they tend to grow considerably taller than birches, with thicker trunks and branches.   In the native environment, birches are considered pioneer species, which means that they tend to colonize in open,  grassy areas, such as spaces cleared by forest fire or abandoned farms.  You will often find them in meadowy areas, including meadows where cleared farmland is in the process of reverting to woodlands.   Interestingly, the sweet sap of the birch can be reduced into syrup and was once used as birch beer. The tree is valuable to wildlife species that depend on the catkins and seeds for food, and the trees are an important timber for woodworking and cabinetry. Taxonomy All birches fall into the general plant family of  Betulaceae, which are closely related to the  Fagaceae  family, including beeches and oaks. The various birch species fall into the  Betula  genus, and there are several that are common North American trees in natural environments or used for landscape design purposes. Because in all beech species the leaves and catkins are similar and they all have very much the same foliage color, the main way to distinguish the species is by close examination of the bark.   4  Common Birch Species The four most common birch species in North America are described below.   Paper birch (Betula  papyrifera): Also known as canoe birch, silver birch, or white birch, this is the species more widely recognized as the iconic birch. In its native environment, it can be found in forest borders across the northern and central U.S. Its bark is dark when the tree is young, but quickly develops the characteristic bright white bark that peels so readily in thick layers that it was once used to make bark canoes. The species grows to about 60 feet tall but is relatively short-lived. It is susceptible to borer insects and is no longer used widely in landscape design due to its susceptibility to damage.River birch (Betula nigra): Sometimes called black birch, this species has a much darker trunk than the paper birch, but still has the characteristic flaky surface. In its native environment, it is common to the eastern third of the U.S. Its trunk has a much rougher, coarser appearance than most of the other birches, and it is bigger than the paper birch, sometimes grow ing to 80 feet or more. It prefers moist soil, and although short-lived, it is relatively immune to most diseases. It is a common  choice in residential landscape design.Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis): This tree is native to forests of the northeast U.S. and is also known as the swamp birch due to the fact that it is often found in marshy areas. It is the largest of the birches, easily growing to 100 feet in height.  It has silvery-yellow bark that peels in very thin layers. Its bark does not have the thick layers seen in paper birches nor the very rough texture seen in river birches.Sweet birch (Betula lenta): This species, also known in some areas as the cherry birch, is native to the eastern U.S., especially the Appalachian region. Growing to 80 feet, its bark is dark in color, but unlike the dark river birch, the skin is relatively tight and smooth, with deep vertical scores. From a distance, the impression is of a smooth, silver bark marked by irregular vertical black lines.

Zimbardo s Stanford Prison Experiment - 1784 Words

The Asch’s experiment is very closely related to Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment and Milgrams experiment of obedience, in which the researcher tries to explain and demonstrate how easily human beings can be persuaded into unusual behaviour by higher figures in authority, or by the opinions of the group of people around them. For the experiment the participants were put in groups, eight subjects were seated around a table, with carefully picked out seating plans to prevent any suspicion. Only one subject was a genuine participant, the rest being confederates (assistants of the experiment), carefully tutored to give pre-selected responses. At first the confederates answered the questions correctly, but eventually began providing incorrect answers. Careful experimental construction placed a varying amount of peer pressure on the individual test subjects. The results of Asch’s experiment was very interesting because it indicated that peer pressure could have a measurable influence on the answers given. The members of the complementary group, those not exposed to peer pressure gave the correct answers, and only one incorrect answer: this can probably be explained by experimental error. The other groups had the opposite results, when surrounded by people giving incorrect answers; over one third also voiced incorrect answers. to ensure that the participants were able to correctly number the length of the lines, participants were asked to individually write down the correctShow MoreRelatedReview Of Philp Zimbardo s Stanford Prison Experiment 1472 Words   |  6 Pages Stanford Prison Experiment Nicholas Burpee Psychology Sarah Gilliss December 4, 2015 The Stanford prison experiment was conducted by Philp Zimbardo and the objective of the experiment was to study the Psychological affects that the prison atmosphere has on both independent groups, the guards and prisoners of the Stanford prison experiment (6. Grievances. n.d.). 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Background Dr. Philip Zimbardo conducted one of the most dramatic psychological experiments just to answer two questions, â€Å"What happens when you put good people in an evil place?† and â€Å"Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?† The aim of the Stanford Prison Experiment was to investigate how willingly people would adjustRead MoreThe Stanford Prison Experiments1627 Words   |  7 Pages0B2 September 26, 2014 The Stanford Prison Experiments The Stanford Prison Experiments, which happened over forty years ago, showed how power, and being powerless, would change and affect a person to do things they wouldn’t normally do. The experiment was started to show what being in the situation of prison would do to a person psychologically. â€Å"I wanted to know who wins -- good people or an evil situation -- when they were brought into direct confrontation†(Zimbardo, Revisiting). 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Cotton Picker Kid in California Valley, 1934 Essay Sample free essay sample

This imperial exposure of â€Å"The Cotton Picker Kid in California Valley. 1934† ( 1934. Mieth ) demonstrates the pure artlessness of the kid in the cotton field. Hansel Mieth was able to capture the true artlessness of the kid while conveying the true significance of what life was all about. after a full twenty-four hours of picking cotton. through the eyes of the small miss The lighting in Hansel Mieth‘s exposure invites merely plenty light to project a dim chromaticity in the background but still allows the chief character to stay darker and more outstanding. as the small girl’s image is the chief caption or the chief thought in this exposure. The tussled. hair offers a glance into the child’s twenty-four hours. of standing in the unfastened cotton field. demoing the consequences of her labour. while her pretty frock. reveals that she is still able to remain true to her character of being a kid. We will write a custom essay sample on Cotton Picker Kid in California Valley, 1934 Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The place of the child’s hands seem to offer a friendly but sheltered recognizing while indicating the lensman in a certain way. Hansel Mieth was successful in capturing the shyness of the small miss while offering a glance into her warm and infantile cordial reception. The lensman is able to demo great contrast between light and dark in her picture taking. which sets the temper for a late eventide sky. and gives you the feeling that after a long day’s work in the cotton field. the object of the exposure is ready to go forth the field. We are able to appreciate Hansel Mieth’s humbleness towards world. where she uses her camera as a tool to state her narrative about the small miss and is persevering in her work as she selects a topic that most lensmans would walk off from. She was stating the narrative of the cotton chooser child. in one frame and she didn’t need any rehearsed or modeled places from the character. She was endeavoring for the natural truth in stating her narrative and she was really good in stating her narrative. We can merely conceive of what life would hold been like in the 1930’s and to be a little kid working in a cotton field is even harder to conceive of. The exposure truly gave a perfect description of what the epoch must hold been like for the kid and you can easy utilize your imaginativeness in calculating out what life was all about. around the immature kid. I appreciate the warm visible radiation that surrounds the exposure with the immense contrast between black and white. It gives a sentimental aura and a deep expression into the down epoch. Hansel Mieth was a lensman who was truly talented in capturing the mundane lives of the hapless. without holding to offer particular props to convey her message. She used the mundane lives of her characters in her exposure. and those true characters in the exposure told their ain narrative. without of all time holding to state a individual word.

The World Is Too Much with Us free essay sample

Hollywood sells Californication† as the Red Hot Chili Peppers would put it they believe people these days value the wrong things being material things and pop culture which some people believe that’s the only way to gain acceptance sadly enough. The same goes with William Wordsworth as he angrily states the poem, that the new generation has lost touch with â€Å"The world† and everything meaningful: â€Å"late and soon, /Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers /Little we see in Nature that is ours / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! He also goes on to say that â€Å"For this, for everything, we are out of tune†(Wordsworth 474). Then it is said that he wishes he were a â€Å"Pagan suckled in a creed outworn†(Wordswroth 474) standing in a â€Å"pleasant lea†, where he’d be â€Å"less forlorn† to see â€Å"Proteus rising from the sea† or hear â€Å"Triton blow his wreathed horn†. We will write a custom essay sample on The World Is Too Much with Us or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page First, we really need to think about what the author means by â€Å"The world† in the first line of the poem. When you analyze this word the first thing that comes to mind is earth which can be pertained to nature and the nature of people in the world, people having bad nature in this case. So when he says â€Å"The world is too much with us† (Wordswroth 474) he’s really saying is the world is too good for us. Accordingly in the next four lines of the poem Wordsworth says: â€Å"late and soon, /Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers /Little we see in Nature that is ours / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! † (Wordswroth 474) The allusions we draw from this is that he is complaining about how we in the present and the future are stealing from Mother Nature. In we seem too not care we are doing so and it’s a horrible outrage. Next Wordsworth goes on to say â€Å"For this, for everything, we are out of tune† (Wordswroth 474) which implicates that we are out of sync with nature and everything and it doesn’t bother us in anyway. He not wanting to be invoked no more wishes he could go back to simpler times in be a â€Å"Pagan† or country dweller â€Å"suckled in a creed outworn† but what he’s really saying is he wishes he were raised in a earlier time of outdated religions. So when he stands in a â€Å"pleasant lea† he will feel â€Å"less forlorn† (Wordswroth 474) specifically saying that when he stands in a meadow he’ll see better things that will make him feel less lonely or sad about the changes in â€Å"The world†. Then he goes on to imagine in the last two lines how awesome it would be to see â€Å"Proteus rising from the sea† or â€Å"Triton blow his wreathed horn†(Wordswroth 474) which would leave us to believe he wished he was in the days of Greek mythology, where people had more respect and understanding of the world around them. Nevertheless, one could interpret Wordsworths poem’s allusions as religious views for the main argument. However there aren’t many things that would support this argument. Which would leave us to believe the meaning it that people are to materialistic and value the wrong things in life. As a result they don’t realize the gifts of nature and all they want to do is take. So we can see this poem as a wakeup call and change are views and learn to appreciate nature.