I walked down to Salmon hole just before spring break to observe some of the nearby trees. One of the easier trees to identify was the paper birch (Betula papyrifera) that lie next to the parking area/entrance of the public park. This paper birch did not resemble the look alike birch trees and with the help of iNaturalist was easy to tell apart from the others. The bark was white and thick and peeled in layers. The tree branches were not flowering and did not have evidence of flowering. However, I think in mid-April the birch will begin to bud and flower.
