White Birch

Other names

Paper Birch, Canoe Birch

Growth habit

Tree

Perennation

Long-lived polycarpic perennial

Native distribution

Native to the Finger Lakes Region, Labrador to B.C. and WA, South to PA, MI, NE and MT

Location

Mundy Wildflower Garden, Cornell Class of 1938 Native Maple Slope

Source of plant

Moses Nurseries, Edgewood Nursery, Schichtel's Nursery

Description

Loosely pyramidal in youth, developing an irregular, oval to rounded crown at maturity, usually maintaining its branches close to the ground unless limbed up. Plants 50' to 70' tall with spread equal to 1/2 to 2/3's the height. Fall color excellent clear yellow. Bark thin, smooth, reddish brown on young branches, becoming creamy-white in the third to fourth year, perhaps the whitest of all the birches; peels freely to expose a reddish-orange inner bark; old trunks become marked with black.

USDA Hardiness Zone

2

Special characteristics

fall color, bark, winter interest

Status

L3|S5|G5