Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis Britton
Mature Size: 60 to 80 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet in diameter.
Form: Broad irregular crown with drooping branches.
Habitat: Well-drained, fertile loams, in mountains (above 3,000 feet elevation).
Leaves
Alternate, simple, 3 to 5 inches long, roughly oblong-oval, pointed, with doubly toothed edges.
Flowers
Reddish green; males in persistent 1 inch catkins near ends of twigs; females in upright 5/8 inch catkins, appearing in spring.
Fruit
Cone-like, ¾ to 1¼ inches long, rather plump, upright, with many hairy scales containing 2-winged nutlets.
Bark
On young trees, shiny bronze (sometimes gray), peeling horizontally in thin, curly, papery strips; on older trees, red-brown scaly plates.
Twigs
Slender, green-brown and hairy when young, light-brown and smooth later; slight wintergreen smell when broken; spur shoots present on older trees; buds egg- shaped, sharply pointed, reddish brown with ruffled scale edges.
Values and Uses
The light brown wood is heavy, strong, hard and close-grained. It can be used for lumber, veneer, flooring, paneling, plywood, cabinets, woodenware, interior doors, pulpwood, charcoal, tar, oils and distillation of wood alcohol. The tree furnishes browse for deer and red squirrels, and its buds and catkins are food for grouse and other wildlife.
Did You Know?
Yellow birch bark burns easily even when wet, making it a good emergency campfire starter. Because its seeds do not grow well in leaf litter, successful seedlings often sprout on rotten logs and stumps.
