x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

 

Betula papyrifera Marshall

American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch

The American white birch or paper birch is a native of North America. Papyrifera means “paper”—the white, peelable bark is smooth and paperlike. Please don’t peel bark from these trees—it can kill them! Birch bark is impregnated with resins, so much so that the wood in fallen trees rots while leaving the bark intact.

Plants: The paper birch reaches about 60′ (18 m) in height, rarely up to twice that. The trunk (sometimes multiply stemmed) is typically bright white, up to 1′ (30 cm) in diameter, with a peeling, papery bark. However, young trees consist of a reddish bronze bark that does not peel, and sometimes, especially in western trees, this bark remains throughout the tree’s life. Trees tend to be pyramidal when young, becoming more irregular as they age.

Leaves: Alternate, ovate, toothed, with pointed tips; dark green above, pale green below, yellow in the fall.

Flowers: Both male and female flowers occur on the same tree. Male flowers are catkins 2–4″ (5–10 cm) long. Female flowers are also catkins, 1–1½″ (2.5–3.8 cm) long. They appear from March to April.

Fruits: Female flowers are followed by drooping cone-like fruits containing numerous small winged seeds.

Habitats: Moist, acidic, sandy or rocky, well-drained soils.

Online References:

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Flora of North America

References:

Eastman, John; illustrated by Hansen, Amelia, The Book of Forest and Thicket: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America, Stackpole Books, 1992, p. 25

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 151

Petrides, George A., Peterson Field Guides: Trees and Shrubs, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1972, p. 231, 338

Little, Elbert L., National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region, Alfred A. Knopf, 1980, p. 179, 615, 368

Little, Elbert L., National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees, Western Region, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1980, p. 206, 383

Dirr, Michael A., Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, Timber Press, 1997, p. 57

Symonds, George W. D.; photos by Chelminski, Stephen V., The Tree Identification Book, Harper, 2003, p. 44

 

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

7/2/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

8/15/2015 · Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 1 × 2′ (39 × 59 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

5/10/2016 · Old Long Loop, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

11/30/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

5/6/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 2½″ (11 × 7.2 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

3/9/2012 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

The raised horizontal patches—lenticels—are part of the tree’s “respiratory system,” allowing gas exchange. · 8/15/2015 · Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 8 × 12″ (21 × 31 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

11/5/2020 · Highland Green, Topsham, Maine

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

7/3/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

11/30/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

Not sure what titanic force ripped this tree out of the ground. · 4/14/2021 · Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

5/6/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

5/10/2016 · Old Long Loop, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

9/24/2023 · Rte 6/15, Moosehead Lake Region, Maine

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

12/10/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

4/23/2024 · Topsham Ponds Trails, Topsham, Maine

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

5/6/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 5 × 5″ (12 × 13 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Betula papyrifera (American white birch, paper birch, canoe birch, silver birch, American birch, white birch)

4/23/2024 · Topsham Ponds Trails, Topsham, Maine

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderFagalesBirch, she-oak, beech, walnut, bayberry, others
FamilyBetulaceaeBirch family: birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams and hop-hornbeams
GenusBetulaBirch
SpeciespapyriferaFrom papyrus, once used for paper, for the paper-like bark

About plant names...

Range: Zones 2-6:

About this map...

Betula papyrifera description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.