Betula uber Betula uber Betula uber, Virginia round-leaf birch, is a rare species of tree in the birch family. One of the most endangered species of North American trees, it is endemic to Smyth County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome. The tree was first described in 1918 as a variety of "Betula lenta", and elevated to species status in 1945. It hybridizes with "B. lenta" and it has been suggested that it is actually a round-leaved mutant form of "B. lenta". Some authorities prefer to treat it as a variety.
Beech bark disease The woolly, white tufts and broad strips are the colonies of the beech scale insect that are formed in tiny crevices along the bark. An adult beech scale insect has a soft body, is yellow in color, ranges from 0.5 to 1.0 millimeter long, and has an elliptical shape. The beech scale insect also has a stylet that it uses to penetrate the bark of the tree for feeding purposes. There are no male beech scale insects and the female insects reproduce parthenogenetically. In mid to late summer, the beech scale insect lays its eggs and dies. The eggs are