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Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera), also known as Canoe Birch or American White Birch, is a species of birch native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, south to Pennsylvania and Washington, with small isolated populations further south in mountains to North Carolina and Colorado. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 20 m tall (exceptionally to 35 m) with a trunk up to 80 cm diameter. The bark is white, commonly brightly so, flaking in fine horizontal strips, and often with small black marks and scars. In individuals younger than five years the bark appears brown with white lenticels, making the tree much harder to distinguish from other trees. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 5-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with a doubly serrate margin. The leaf buds are conical and small, they are green colored with brown edges. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3-8 cm long growing from the tips of twigs, the fruit matures in the fall. The mature fruit is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts. They drop between September and spring. Paper Birch is the Provincial tree of Saskatchewan and the State tree of New Hampshire. The names reflect the use of the tree's bark, primarily by Native Americans, for a writing material and also that the waterproof bark was used for the outer covering of canoes.
Ecology Paper birch is a pioneer species. It needs high nutrients and a lot of sun. Birch bark is a winter staple food for moose. The nutritional quality is poor, but is important to wintering moose because of its sheer abundance. Although white-tailed deer consider Birch a "secondary-choice food", it is an important dietary component. In Minnesota, white-tailed deer eat considerable amounts of paper birch leaves in the fall. Snowshoe hares browse paper birch seedlings, porcupines feed on the inner bark and mice eat the seeds. Distribution and Conservation Paper birch is found in all provinces and territories of Canada, except Nunavut, as well as the northern United States, south to Colorado, Tennessee and North Carolina. Paper birch is considered vulnerable in Indiana, imperiled in Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, and critically imperiled in Colorado and Tennessee. Uses Birch has somewhat white, soft wood. It is acceptable for furniture parts, floors, and Oriented Strand Board. It does not have a very high value. The sap is used to produce birch syrup. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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