Paper Birch

Betula papyrifera

Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) is a native, short-lived deciduous tree whose chalky white bark peels off in thin, papery strips and whose leaves turn bright gold in late September. In the Black Hills it grows in cool, moist canyons and on shaded north slopes, mostly mixed in with quaking aspen, and it sheds pollen from long, hanging catkins in late April and May as the leaves open.

Free photos from other sources

Paper Birch: Peeling white bark with dark horizontal lines and orange bark beneath — Betula papyrifera. Caleb Catto, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Paper Birch: White trunk with bark peeling in papery strips — Betula papyrifera. Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Paper Birch: Spreading birch in early fall color in a grassy opening — Betula papyrifera. Jo Roberts, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Paper Birch: Slender white trunks at the foot of a rock cliff — Betula papyrifera. Jo Roberts, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Paper Birch: Egg-shaped, double-toothed leaves with pointed tips — Betula papyrifera. Owen McElroy, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Paper Birch: Hanging yellow-brown male catkins in spring — Betula papyrifera. Caleb Catto, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Quick facts
Family	Betulaceae · Birch
Status	Native tree
Blooms	Catkins late April into May, as the leaves open
Height	3–24 m (10–80 ft)
Where	Cool, moist canyons, north slopes and spring-fed draws, usually with aspen
Also called	White Birch, Canoe Birch, Paperbark Birch, čhaŋhásaŋ (Lakota)
Synonym	Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera, Betula papyracea, Betula papyrifera var. commutata, Betula papyrifera var. subcordata
Traditional use	Sitting Bull College's 1998 Culturally Important Plants of the Lakota says shredded bark was bound together to make torches, and the bark was formed into containers to collect and hold maple sap.

Roots, seeds & germination

Root: Shallow roots, most in the top 60 cm (24 in) of soil, with no taproot. Cut or burned trees resprout from the stump and root collar, though this ability fades with age.

Seed: A tiny two-winged nutlet, carried by the wind mostly within 30–60 m (100–200 ft) of the parent tree. Most seed falls from September through November, and the rest drifts onto the snow through the winter. Many seeds are empty.

Germination: Fresh seed needs no pretreatment if it gets light at 20–25°C (68–77°F); seed kept in the dark sprouts only after a cold, moist treatment. It does best on bare mineral soil, and light shade helps the tiny seedlings keep from drying out. USDA recommends sowing seed on the surface as soon as it is ripe.

How do you identify Paper Birch?

Look for chalky white bark that peels in thin horizontal sheets, marked with short, dark horizontal lines, with orange to pink bark underneath; saplings stay dark reddish-brown until about age 10–12. The leaves are egg-shaped with a sharp tip, 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long, with uneven double teeth on a round leaf stalk. In fall, small cone-like seed catkins crumble into winged seeds and three-lobed scales. Quaking Aspen bark is smooth, greenish-white and doesn't peel, and its nearly round leaves tremble on flattened stalks. Water Birch, along creeks, has shiny reddish-brown to nearly black bark that rarely peels.

When does it bloom?

Catkins late April into May, as the leaves open.

Where does it grow?

Cool, moist sites: canyon bottoms and walls, north-facing slopes, spring-fed draws and the edges of white spruce forest, mostly in the northern and central Hills, at about 1,080–2,050 m (3,550–6,700 ft). It grows most often with Quaking Aspen and beaked hazelnut, often as a shorter tree under the aspen. The National Park Service lists it for Wind Cave, Jewel Cave and Mount Rushmore, and about 200 herbarium specimens come from six Black Hills counties, most from Lawrence County and Spearfish Canyon, where birch and aspen give the canyon its fall gold. The Black Hills hold one of several scattered outlying populations south of its main northern range.