White birch tree (Betula papyrifera) is also known as silver birch and canoe birch. The scientific name of the tree means paper-bearing birch. The deciduous tree is small to medium sized and is commonly used as an ornamental planting. White birch grows to a mature height of 70 to 80 feet and has an average lifespan of about 140 years. The most outstanding characteristic of the white birch is its peeling white bark marked with horizontal stripes.
Tree Uses
All parts of the white birch are used. The peeling bark is used for starting fire since it can burn even when wet. Native Americans used white birch wood for making baskets, baby carriers, torches, mats and for covering their canoes. The flexible wood is favored in the construction of bows, spears and arrows. Modern day uses of white birch lumbar include the production of veneer, plywood and pulpwood. The sap is used for making wine, beer, syrup and medicinal tonics.
Habitat
White birch is found extensively in the colder areas of North America, growing in the north from Alaska to the Canadian Maritimes. The trees move southward to the northern Cascade Mountains, the Great Lakes States and into New England. White birch grows easily on higher mountain elevations as well and adapts to a wide range of soils, adjusting just as readily to peaty bogs as to thin, rocky mountaintops.
Wildlife Uses
In its natural and adapted habitat, the white birch is a food source for a number of animals. The new leaves and shoots are often eaten by the white-tailed deer and moose while the bark is consumed by porcupines. The young saplings and seedlings of the trees are favored by rabbits. The sap of the tree is consumed by yellow-bellied sapsuckers who peck holes into the bark to get to the syrup. The wells created by the sapsuckers in the bark are used by squirrels and hummingbirds to retrieve the sap.
