seeds at a prolific rate and quickly colonizes disturbed areas. In the Northeastern US in the 1980s, infestations of gypsy moths, Hemlock woolly adelgid, and Discula destructiva killed many trees, and their place was taken by black birch. Uses The wood of black birch is heavy at 47 pounds per cubic foot and is used for furniture, millwork, and cabinets. It is similar to yellow birch wood and often not distinguished from it in the lumber trade. The sap flows about a month later than maple sap, and much faster. The trees can be tapped in a similar fashion, but must be gathered about three times more often. Birch sap can be boiled the same as maple sap, but its syrup is stronger (like molasses). It can be used to make birch beer. Boiling also destroys volatile quantities of wintergreen oil. The inner bark can be eaten raw as an emergency food. The twigs and inner bark can be steeped to make tea. Black birch was once harvested extensively to produce oil of wintergreen, the tree was borderline endangered until the 1950s-60s when synthetic oil of wintergreen appeared. Ecology The leaves of this species serve as food for some caterpillars and the solitary leaf-cutter bee Megachile rubi cuts pieces from the leaves to line the cells of its nest. Deer do not tend to browse young B. lenta allowing trees to grow in areas with high deer populations, Betula alleghaniensis, a close relative of B. lenta, is, however, heavily browsed by deer. This accounts for a lack of B. alleghaniensis and an abundance of B. lenta where deer populations are high. In abandoned fields, B. lenta is often thicket forming and protects trees not resistant to deer browsing. References External links Flora of North America: Betula lenta RangeMap: Betula lenta images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu lenta Trees of the Eastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of the Northeastern United States Trees of Ontario Trees of Quebec Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Medicinal plants of North America Trees of humid continental climate Trees of Eastern Canada