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Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Betula papyrifera
Phenology Observation Sheet for Deciduous Trees and Shrubs

COMMON NAME

paper birch

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Betula papyrifera

ALSO KNOWN AS

Canoe birch, Paperbark birch, Silver birch

Plant family

Birch (Betulaceae)

Plant group

Deciduous Trees and Shrubs

Birches have flowers in small clusters (catkins) which hang from the branches and mature before leaves emerge. Paper birch has white, peeling bark but some western varieties can have brown or coppery bark.
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OBSERVERS
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OBSERVATIONS
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Identification hints

Birches have flowers in small clusters (catkins) which hang from the branches and mature before leaves emerge. Paper birch has white, peeling bark but some western varieties can have brown or coppery bark.
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Did you know?

The sap and inner bark is used as emergency food. White birch can be tapped in the spring to obtain sap from which beer, syrup, wine or vinegar is made. The inner bark can be dried and ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups or added to flour used in making bread. A tea is made from the root bark and young leaves of white birch. It was also used by native Americans to make canoes, buckets, and baskets. North American Indian tribes used white birch to treat skin problems of various rashes; skin sores, and burns.  Prepared By Lincoln M. Moore at the USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center.
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
Alaska , Colorado , Connecticut , Iowa , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Massachusetts , Maryland , Maine , Michigan , Minnesota , Montana , North Carolina , North Dakota , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Dakota , Tennessee , Virginia , Vermont , Washington , Wisconsin , West Virginia , Wyoming
HABITAT
Grows best in well-drained soils with cold soil temperatures and ample moisture. This species grows best in full sunlight and is very shade intolerant.
ATTRIBUTES
Leaves
Oval or triangular-shaped, greener on the topside and paler on the underside.
Flowers
In long, yellowish clumps called catkins. Flowers bloom in mid-spring.
Fruits
Paper birch fruits are tiny winged-nutlets about 1.5 mm long by 0.8 mm wide.
Bark
Thin, smooth and dark on young stems, becoming bright creamy white with a peeling, papery texture.

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