White birch

Latin name: Betula papyrifera Marsh.
French name: Bouleau à papier
Synonym(s): Canoe birch paper birch
Taxonomic Serial Number: 19489
Hardiness zone: C2, NA2

Description

Leaves

Leaf with detail of double-toothed margin - white birch

Form

Ovate or triangular, tip-pointed
Widest below the middle
Base broadly wedge-shaped, rounded, straight or cordate, and smooth-edged
9 veins per side or fewer
Preformed leaves become hairless
Neoformed leaves remain hairy, especially at the vein axils

Length

5–10 cm

Colour

Upper surface dull green
Lower surface lighter green

Margin

Double-toothed
Each vein ends in a large tooth with 3–5 smaller intervening teeth
33–55 teeth per side

Buds

Form

Slender, tapering to a blunt point
Resinous

Length

5–7 mm

Colour

Scales greenish toward the base
Brown toward the tip

Twigs

Form

Slender, hairy, developing sparse warty resin glands

Colour

Dark reddish-brown

Flowers

Pollen catkin in winter condition - white birch

Form

Pollen catkins in clusters of 1–3
Seed catkins erect

Length

Pollen catkins 1–3 cm, 9 cm at pollination
Seed catkins 1–2 cm

Width

Pollen catkins 2–4 mm in winter

Colour

Stigmas pink or red

Structure

Monoecious

Fruits

Form

Mature seed catkins hang from dwarf shoots
Scales variable, usually hairy, with 2 rounded lateral lobes diverging from a short, pointed central lobe

Length

Mature seed catkins 3–5 cm
Nutlets 1.5–2.5 mm
Scales 2–3 mm

Width

Nutlets half as wide as long
Wings much wider than the nutlet

Timing

Fruits and scales shed from September onward

Bark

Form

Thin, smooth
Often shedding in large sheets

Colour

Dark red to almost black on young stems, becoming reddish-brown then bright creamy white
Reddish-orange inner bark turns black

Wood

Texture

Uniform, odourless

Colour

Pale

Uses

Tough pliable bark used for making canoes and ornaments

Size

Height

In eastern Canada, to 25 m
In western Canada, western white birch to 35 m, with peeling orange-white bark, and northwestern white birch to 20 m, with light reddish-brown bark

Diameter

To 40 cm

Maximum age

120 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

Slender, often curved
Usually distinct to midcrown or higher

Crown

Narrowly oval, open
Branches ascending

Habitat

Site

Forest edges, lakeshores, and roadsides
A wide variety of soils

Light tolerance

Not shade-tolerant

Associated species

In pure stands and mixed with various species such as other birches, pines, spruce, hemlocks, poplars, maples, balsam fir, northern red oak, and pin cherry

Range

Across Canada

Photos

Insects and mites

Insects that cause damage to this tree.

Birch leafminer

Scientific name: Fenusa pusilla (Lepeletier)

Fall cankerworm

Scientific name: Alsophila pometaria [Harris]

Late birch leaf edgeminer

Scientific name: Heterarthrus nemoratus (Fallen)

Pale winged grey

Scientific name: Iridopsis ephyraria (Wlk.)

Poplar-and-willow borer

Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).

Spring cankerworm

Scientific name: Paleacrita vernata (Peck)

Birch leafminer
Scientific name: Fenusa pusilla (Lepeletier)
Fall cankerworm
Scientific name: Alsophila pometaria [Harris]
Late birch leaf edgeminer
Scientific name: Heterarthrus nemoratus (Fallen)
Pale winged grey
Scientific name: Iridopsis ephyraria (Wlk.)
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
Spring cankerworm
Scientific name: Paleacrita vernata (Peck)

Cones or seeds

Eupithecia placidata (Taylor)

Eupithecia placidata (Taylor)

Foliage or buds

Ambermarked birch leafminer

Scientific name: Profenusa thomsoni (Konow)

Birch budgall mite

Scientific name: Acalitus rudis (Canestrini)

Birch casebearer

Scientific name: Coleophora serratella (Linnaeus)

Birch leafminer

Scientific name: Fenusa pusilla (Lepeletier)

Birch sawfly

Scientific name: Arge pectoralis (Leach)

Birch skeletonizer

Scientific name: Bucculatrix canadensisella Chambers

Birch-aspen leafroller

Scientific name: Epinotia solandriana (Linnaeus)

Bronze birch borer

Scientific name: Agrilus anxius Gory

Revision 2024

Ceanothus silk moth

Scientific name: Hyalophora euryalis (Walker)