The Red Birch is a rare species, and but very little known. By careless
observers it might be mistaken for a white birch, the redness of its
bark seeming only a departure from its usual type. The only trees of
this species I have seen in Massachusetts were in Andover, in a swamp
through which the Shawsheen River flows. If you would behold this tree
to the best advantage, you must follow the streams that glide along the
level woodlands which are inundated a part of the year. There it may be
seen, like some pilgrim bending worshipfully over the stream, by whose
beneficent waters it is sustained in beauty and health. Its picturesque
attractions, arising from the great variety of its outlines and the
peculiar wreathing of its foliage around the stem, are not surpassed by
those of the willow, that delights in similar places. The reddish
whiteness of the bark and wood has given the name to this tree. It is a
tall, bushy tree of rapid growth, rolling up its bark in coarse
ringlets, which are whitish with a stain of crimson.