This most lovely tree has a huge native range over most of Alaska & Canada, the northern Rocky Mountains, spots in the northern Great Plains, most of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, northwest Illinois and northeast Iowa, northern Pennsylvania and much of New York, and New England. It is a very common tree in the north woods. It is planted a fair amount of the time in the northern US in landscapes. It grows about 1.5 to 2 feet/year and lives about 100 years in the north woods. In landscapes around Chicago, IL, and around Philadelphia, PA it usually lives about 30 years before being killed by the Bronze Birch Borer because of stress from summer heat and drought, though some in good locations with afternoon shade and coolness can live about 50 to 60 years in those areas. Irrigate landscape trees in summer. This white birch has peeling bark that was used by Native Americans to make canoes, thus also called Canoe Birch. The leaves are sort of rounded and get to 4 to 5.5 inches long x 2 to 4 inches wide. Offered by a good number of conventional, mail order, or native nurseries.

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Native in the Pacific NW; found around bogs, streams, and other wetlands. The flexible waterproof bark was used for baskets and canoes, the wood for fuel, the sap and inner bark as emergency food. The name birch may be translated in many languages as "a tree whose bark is used for writing upon." The sap can be chewed like gum, and it has also been used in a variety of beverages -- wine, soft drinks, and health tonics. The leaves turn yellow in the fall.

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The state tree of New Hampshire.

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