River Walk Trees - Fredenhagen Park, Naperville, Illinois

Try to find this cluster of trees at Fredenhagen Park.

Look for peeling bark. You might be tempted to peel off some of the pieces, but remember to respect the trees and don't peel off any of the bark. When the trees are older the bark will be darker, but it will still peel.

Look for opposite leaves which means that the leaves aren't right accross from each other. The leaves on these trees are doubly toothed. That means that they have big teeth with little teeth in between.

The pictures were taken in early August. Most of the leaves are green. What color do you think the leaves will be in the fall?

Do you know the name of these trees?

They are Betula nigra. Their common name is River birch