Yellow birch

Leaves

Form

• Oval, tip slender, sharp-pointed
• Base rounded, indented
• Veins straight, parallel, 9 or more per side
• Preformed leaves on dwarf shoots and the basal part of long shoots become hairless
• Neoformed leaves on the apical part of long shoots remain densely hairy

Length

• 8–11 cm

Margin

• Each vein ends in a large tooth, with 2 or 3 smaller intervening teeth

Buds

Form

• Sharp-pointed, often hairy, especially on young trees

Colour

• 2 shades of brown on each scale

Twigs

Form

• Slender, usually slightly hairy
• Wintergreen flavour when chewed

Colour

• Uniformly brown

Flowers

Form

• Seed catkins erect at pollination

Length

• Pollen catkins about 2 cm by late autumn, about 8 cm at pollination
• Seed catkins 1.5–2 cm

Width

• Pollen catkins 2–3 mm by late autumn

Structure

• Monoecious

Fruits

Form

• Mature seed catkins cone-like, erect on spur shoots
• Nutlets with narrow wings
• Scales hairy, with 3 narrow ascending lobes
• Catkin axis with its scales often remains on the tree over winter

Length

• Mature seed catkins about 3 cm
• Scales 5–7 mm

Timing

• Ripen in late September, shed during succeeding months

Bark

Form

• Thin, with thin, papery shreds ending in tight curls, not peeling readily
• With age separates into large ragged-edged plates on the lower part of the trunk

Colour

• Shiny reddish-brown when young, becoming dull yellow
• Gradually darkens to a bronze colour with age

Wood

Texture

• Heavy, hard, strong                                                                                    

Colour

• Golden brown to reddish-brown

Morphology

• Often wavy-grained

Uses

• Furniture, cabinetwork, flooring, doors, veneer, plywood

Size

Height

• To 25 m

Diameter

• To 60 cm

Maximum age

• 150 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Straight to sinuous, with little taper

Crown

• Irregularly rounded
• Branches large, wide-spreading, with drooping tips

Root system

• Wide-spreading, often with some larger roots on or above the surface

Habitat

Site

• Rich, moist soils

Light tolerance

• Moderately shade-tolerant

Associated species

• Beech, sugar maple, basswood, eastern hemlock, balsam fir, eastern white pine, white spruce, and red spruce