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| ## paper birch {#paper-birch .Title-Header}                           |
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| *Betula papyrifera* Marsh.                                            |
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| Plant Symbol = BEPA                                                   |
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*Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

# Alternative Names

White birch (*B*. *p*. var. *paperifera*), paperbark birch, silver
birch, canoe birch; western paper birch (*B*. *p*. var. *commutata*),
mountain paper birch (*B*. *p*. var. *cordifolia*), Kenai birch (*B*.
*p*. var. *kenaica*)

# Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The sap and inner bark is used as emergency food
(MacKinnon & Pojar 1994). 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. The Shuswap made soap and
shampoo from the leaves (MacKinnon, Pojar, & Coupe´ 192). It is also
used by native Americans to make canoes, buckets, and baskets. The
Shuswap were noted for their beautiful birch bark baskets (Ibid.). North
American Indian tribes used white birch to treat skin problems of
various rashes; skin sores, and burns (Moerman 1998). The bark has been
used to make casts for broken bones.

*Economic*: White birch wood is used commercially for pulpwood, plywood,
veneer, and turnery. Tree chips are used for paper manufacture and
fuel.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6979166666666665in"
height="3.81875in"}

*Medicinal:* A decoction has been used to treat dysentery, various
diseases of the blood, induce sweating, and to ensure an adequate supply
of milk in nursing mothers (Moerman 1998). Birch gum could have been
medicinal for some stone-age gathers. The chewable gum contains zylitol,
a disinfectant, and some terpenes, which could give the chewier a mild
buzz (MacKinnon & Pojar 1994).

*Landscaping & Wildlife*: *Betula papyrifera* is commonly used as a
landscape tree for it's striking coloration. It is a desirable
ornamental to be planted around homes and public buildings, in parks,
and on campuses. Moose, snowshoe hare, and white-tailed deer browse
paper birch. Numerous birds and small mammals eat the buds, catkins, and
seeds.

*Agroforestry*: White birch is used in forested riparian buffers to help
reduce stream bank erosion, protect aquatic environments, enhance
wildlife, and increase biodiversity.

# Status

# Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

# Description

*General*: Birch family (Betulaceae). White birch is a deciduous small
to medium sized native tree. The leaves are alternate, ovate or
triangular, five to ten centimeters long. The flowers are male and
female flowers in separate catkins two to four centimeters long, the
catkins break up at maturity (MacKinnon & Pojar 1994). The fruits are
mature seed catkins that are three to five centimeters long. The bark is
thin, smooth, dark red to almost black on young stems, becoming
reddish-brown and then bright creamy white (Farrar 1995).

*Distribution*: White birch is native in Northern North America. It is
widely distributed from northwestern Alaska east across Canada to
Labrador and Newfoundland, south in northwestern states to Pennsylvania
and Iowa and in the western states to Montana and northeastern Oregon
(Viereck & Little & 1972). For current distribution, please consult the
Plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

# Adaptation 

White birch is adapted to a variety of soils. It grows best in
well-drained acid, sandy or silty loam, in cold soil temperatures and
ample moisture. It is not tolerant of drought, compacted soils, or areas
with high air temperatures. This species grows best in full sunlight and
is very shade intolerant. It does not perform well in harsh conditions
or heat and is not tolerant of pollution.

# Establishment

*Propagation from Seed:* Propagation by seed requires that the seed is
best sown as soon as it is ripe. Sow the seeds in containers or seed
trays containing a seed germination medium to which a slow release
fertilizer is added. Firm the medium and sow the seed thinly and evenly
on top, and cover with medium to a depth of medium (Heuser 1997). Place
the pots in a sunny location in a cold frame. Plant seedlings into their
permanent positions in late spring or early summer. When seedlings are
large enough to handle they should be placed into individual pots and
grown in a cold frame for their first winter.

# Management

Fertilization and irrigation should be done to maintain white birch
vigorous condition and to help prevent borer infestation. Don't prune
this birch or other birches until summer because they are "bleeders" and
should not be cut when the sap is flowing.

White birch is susceptible to bronze birch borer and birch leaf minor.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Readily available at nurseries. Contact your local Natural Resources
Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for
more information. Look in the phone book under "United States
Government". The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed
under the subheading "Department of Agriculture."

# References

Barnes, B.V. & W.H. Wagner, Jr. 1981. *Michigan trees*. The University
of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Britton, N.L. 1908. *North American trees*. Henry Holt & Company, New
York.

Dirr, M.A. 1997 *Dirr's hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated
encyclopedia*. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

Dirr, M.A. 1990. *Manual of woody landscape plants: their
identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation, and
uses*. 4^th^ ed. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaigne, Illinois.

Great Plains Flora Association 1986. *Flora of the great plains*.
University Press of Kansas, Lawerence, Kansas.

Farrar, J.L. 1995. *Trees of the northern United States and Canada*.
Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.

Heuser, C.W. 1997. *The complete book of plant propagation*. The Taunton
Press, Newtown, Connecticut.

Viereck, L.A. & E.L. Little, Jr. 1972. A*laska trees and shrubs*. United
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Agriculture Handbook
No. 410.

Pojar, J. & A. MacKinnon 1994. *Plants of the Pacific Northwest coast:
Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska*. Lone Pine Publishing,
Redmond, Washington.

Preston, R.J. Jr. 1948. *North American trees*. 2^nd^ ed. The Iowa State
College Press, Ames, Iowa.

MacKinnon, A., J. Pojar, & R. Coupe´. 1992. *Plants of the northern
British Columbia*. Lone Pine Publishing, Canada.

McMinn, H.E. & E. Maino 1963. *An illustrated manual of pacific coast
trees*. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Moerman, D. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press, Oregon.

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 1999. *Paleoenvironmental
atlas of Beringia*. Accessed: 11jan02.

\<http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/parcs/atlas/beringia/vphotos.html\>

Preston, R.J. Jr. 1989. *North American trees*. 4^th^ ed. Iowa State
University Press, Ames, Iowa.

Sargent, C.S. 1961. *Manual of the trees of North America*. Vol. 1.
Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

Weber, W.A. 1990. *Colorado flora: eastern slope*. University Press of
Colorado, Niwot, Colorado.

# Prepared By

#### *Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

# Species Coordinator

*Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 09jan02 jsp; 14feb03 ahv; 31may06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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