A white-barked deciduous birch of the northern North American forests, whose peeling bark sheets the canoes and writing scrolls of First Nations peoples.
Where it grows
Paper birch ranges across the northern North American boreal and northern hardwood zones, from Labrador west to Alaska and south into the New England mountains, the Great Lakes, and the northern Rockies. It is a fast-growing pioneer of disturbed sites and cleared logging land.
How to recognise it
The smooth white bark peels in broad horizontal strips, often revealing a salmon-pink inner bark beneath. Mature trunks are pure white with prominent dark horizontal lenticels. The leaves are double-toothed, broadly oval, and turn clear yellow in autumn — a defining colour of the northern fall foliage alongside maple reds.
Uses
The sheets of papery bark were peeled by Algonquin and Ojibwe peoples to build the famously light and resilient birch-bark canoe and to make boxes, baskets, scrolls, and the iconic Cree birch-bark biting designs. Modern uses include plywood, popsicle sticks, and high-quality firewood. The sap is tapped alongside maple in the spring.
Ecology
Paper birch is short-lived for a forest tree, typically yielding to spruce, fir, and sugar maple over a century as the climax forest re-establishes itself.
Find more trees by letter
Paper Birch starts with P and ends with H. Browse other trees along the same letter.
Trees that contain a letter from "Paper Birch":