Paper birch, also known as white birch, is used for lumber, veneer, plywood and pulpwood, and its smooth uniform texture makes it a popular choice for household items, toys and products such as wooden spoons and toothpicks.
Paper birch is a small- to medium-sized deciduous, broadleaf tree found throughout the interior of British Columbia (B.C.). It is easily recognized by thin, white to reddish-brown bark that peels in papery strips. Its high-value lumber is used for furniture, cabinets, flooring and other millwork items. Since the wood has no odour or taste, it is ideal for short-use recyclable items such as disposable plates and cutlery.
Where it grows
Paper birch is intolerant of shade, so it thrives in open clearings and younger forests resulting from disturbances such as wildfire and insect infestations. It grows on a variety of soils and is found across most of B.C.’s interior and in a few scattered places on the coast. It can be an important winter food for many forest animals, including deer and moose, and its litter contributes nutrients to the forest floor.
Identifiable characteristics
Paper birch often has many stems and can be up to 40 metres tall. In forests, the slender trunk often curves before extending to the narrow, oval-shaped crown. In the open, the crown is pyramid shaped. The leaves are triangular, or egg shaped and doubly toothed, dull green on top, paler with a soft down underneath. The bark is thin, white to reddish-brown, with dark horizontal slits (lenticels) that act as pores so gases can pass from internal tissues to the atmosphere. The bark peels in papery strips, exposing reddish-orange inner bark which will gradually turn black with age. Paper birch mature at about 70 years of age, with few trees living longer than 200 years.
Flowers are either male or female, and both are narrow catkins that appear before or at the same time as the leaves. Female catkins are two to four centimetres and stand erect at the tip of the branch. Male catkins are longer and hang below the branch. Each tree produces thousands of wind-dispersed seeds.
