Betula kenaica Betula kenaica Betula kenaica, or Kenai birch, is a species of birch that can be found in Alaska and northwestern North America at above sea level. It grows up to tall, with reddish-brown bark that may become pink or grayish-white. The leaf blades are ovate and grow in 2-6 pairs which are (sometimes up to ) long and wide. The leaf margins are cuneated and serrated with rounded base and acute apex. The flowers bloom in late spring while fruits fall in autumn. The buds and twigs of the plant are used as a stew flavor while its inner bark
Beech bark disease to spread to the south and west. The first case of beech bark disease in the United States was reported in 1929 in Massachusetts. By 2004, the disease had spread as far west as Michigan and as far south as western North Carolina. For beech bark disease to occur, two components are required, an insect and a fungus. The beech scale insect, "Cryptococcus fagisuga", is invasive to North America and is host-specific, feeding exclusively on beech trees. It can be observed on the trunk and limbs of the tree as woolly, white tufts that will later develop into broad strips.