Habitat

• native to northeastern North America
• zone 3
• common in cool regions; often on north facing slopes

Habit and Form

• similar in size and form to B. lenta
• commonly 60' to 75' tall; can reach 100' in the wild
• pyramidal and dense when young, developing a rounded to irregular crown when mature
• deciduous medium to large tree
• medium texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate, simple leaves
• 3" to 5"; long and half as wide
• elongated oval in shape, doubly serrate
• dull, dark green upper surface, light green underside
• broken twigs have a wintergreen smell

Autumn Foliage

• turns a showy yellow

Flowers

• blooms in mid to late April
• monoecious: male and female catkins
• generally 5 to 8 male catkins per cluster

Fruit

• small nutlets held in catkins

Bark

• amber to silvery
• smooth and exfoliating in thin shreds or rolls
• interesting and showy

Culture

• prefers cooler environments
• not as well adapted to heat and drought as B. lenta
• best in full sun
• cool moist soils are preferred
• move B & B or in containers

Landscape Use

• lawn tree, shade is relatively light
• shade tree
• for showy bark
• naturalized areas; edge of woods
• perhaps useful because it is not especially susceptible to leaf minor or bronze birch borer

Liabilities

• doesn't like heat or drought
• perhaps short-lived
• stem cankers
• hard to locate in nursery trade

ID Features

• amber or silvery bark peeling in shreds or rolls
• elongated oval-shaped leaves

Propagation

• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

• None