§1 Plant
Betula nigra L.
vernacular river birch — species · Betulaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Betulaceae Gray
- Genus
- Betula
§2a
Native status, by region
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 971 counties across 29 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- None
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -31 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 150 min.
- Precipitation
- 30–80 in/yr
- pH range
- 3–6.5
- Root depth
- 20 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 70 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 35 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Brown
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Mid Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Spring
- Spread rate
- Rapid
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 374,400
- Propagation
- seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Fuelwood
- Low
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 971 counties across 29 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 60 N ▾
- Autauga 01001
- Barbour 01005
- Bibb 01007
- Blount 01009
- Bullock 01011
- Butler 01013
- Calhoun 01015
- Chambers 01017
- Cherokee 01019
- Chilton 01021
- Choctaw 01023
- Clay 01027
- Cleburne 01029
- Coffee 01031
- Colbert 01033
- Conecuh 01035
- Coosa 01037
- Covington 01039
- Crenshaw 01041
- Cullman 01043
- Dale 01045
- Dallas 01047
- DeKalb 01049
- Elmore 01051
- Escambia 01053
- Etowah 01055
- Fayette 01057
- Franklin 01059
- Geneva 01061
- Greene 01063
- Hale 01065
- Henry 01067
- Houston 01069
- Jackson 01071
- Jefferson 01073
- Lauderdale 01077
- Lawrence 01079
- Lee 01081
- Limestone 01083
- Lowndes 01085
- Macon 01087
- Madison 01089
- Marengo 01091
- Marion 01093
- Marshall 01095
- Mobile 01097
- Montgomery 01101
- Perry 01105
- Pickens 01107
- Pike 01109
- Randolph 01111
- Russell 01113
- Shelby 01117
- Talladega 01121
- Tallapoosa 01123
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Walker 01127
- Washington 01129
- Wilcox 01131
- Winston 01133
Arkansas view state ↗ 70 N ▾
- Arkansas 05001
- Ashley 05003
- Baxter 05005
- Benton 05007
- Boone 05009
- Bradley 05011
- Calhoun 05013
- Carroll 05015
- Clark 05019
- Clay 05021
- Cleburne 05023
- Cleveland 05025
- Columbia 05027
- Conway 05029
- Craighead 05031
- Crawford 05033
- Crittenden 05035
- Cross 05037
- Dallas 05039
- Drew 05043
- Faulkner 05045
- Franklin 05047
- Garland 05051
- Grant 05053
- Greene 05055
- Hempstead 05057
- Hot Spring 05059
- Howard 05061
- Independence 05063
- Izard 05065
- Jackson 05067
- Jefferson 05069
- Johnson 05071
- Lafayette 05073
- Lawrence 05075
- Lee 05077
- Little River 05081
- Logan 05083
- Lonoke 05085
- Madison 05087
- Marion 05089
- Miller 05091
- Mississippi 05093
- Monroe 05095
- Montgomery 05097
- Nevada 05099
- Newton 05101
- Ouachita 05103
- Perry 05105
- Pike 05109
- Poinsett 05111
- Polk 05113
- Pope 05115
- Prairie 05117
- Pulaski 05119
- Randolph 05121
- Saline 05125
- Scott 05127
- Searcy 05129
- Sebastian 05131
- Sevier 05133
- Sharp 05135
- St. Francis 05123
- Stone 05137
- Union 05139
- Van Buren 05141
- Washington 05143
- White 05145
- Woodruff 05147
- Yell 05149
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Alachua 12001
- Baker 12003
- Bay 12005
- Calhoun 12013
- Columbia 12023
- Dixie 12029
- Escambia 12033
- Franklin 12037
- Gadsden 12039
- Gilchrist 12041
- Hamilton 12047
- Holmes 12059
- Jackson 12063
- Jefferson 12065
- Lafayette 12067
- Leon 12073
- Levy 12075
- Liberty 12077
- Nassau 12089
- Okaloosa 12091
- Santa Rosa 12113
- Suwannee 12121
- Taylor 12123
- Union 12125
- Walton 12131
- Washington 12133
Georgia view state ↗ 45 N ▾
- Baker 13007
- Bartow 13015
- Ben Hill 13017
- Brantley 13025
- Brooks 13027
- Carroll 13045
- Chatham 13051
- Cherokee 13057
- Clarke 13059
- Clinch 13065
- Colquitt 13071
- Columbia 13073
- Cook 13075
- Dade 13083
- DeKalb 13089
- Dooly 13093
- Echols 13101
- Elbert 13105
- Grady 13131
- Haralson 13143
- Harris 13145
- Henry 13151
- Houston 13153
- Jackson 13157
- Jasper 13159
- Jefferson 13163
- Lanier 13173
- Lee 13177
- Long 13183
- Lowndes 13185
- Macon 13193
- McIntosh 13191
- Morgan 13211
- Oglethorpe 13221
- Paulding 13223
- Pierce 13229
- Randolph 13243
- Screven 13251
- Stephens 13257
- Sumter 13261
- Tattnall 13267
- Troup 13285
- Upson 13293
- Wayne 13305
- Worth 13321
Illinois view state ↗ 65 N ▾
- Adams 17001
- Alexander 17003
- Calhoun 17013
- Carroll 17015
- Cass 17017
- Christian 17021
- Clark 17023
- Clay 17025
- Coles 17029
- Crawford 17033
- Cumberland 17035
- Edwards 17047
- Effingham 17049
- Fayette 17051
- Franklin 17055
- Fulton 17057
- Gallatin 17059
- Greene 17061
- Hamilton 17065
- Hancock 17067
- Hardin 17069
- Henderson 17071
- Henry 17073
- Jackson 17077
- Jasper 17079
- Jefferson 17081
- Jersey 17083
- Jo Daviess 17085
- Johnson 17087
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Knox 17095
- Lake 17097
- Lawrence 17101
- Livingston 17105
- Macoupin 17117
- Madison 17119
- Marion 17121
- Mason 17125
- Massac 17127
- McDonough 17109
- Menard 17129
- Mercer 17131
- Montgomery 17135
- Morgan 17137
- Peoria 17143
- Perry 17145
- Pike 17149
- Pope 17151
- Pulaski 17153
- Randolph 17157
- Richland 17159
- Rock Island 17161
- Saline 17165
- Sangamon 17167
- Schuyler 17169
- Scott 17171
- St. Clair 17163
- Union 17181
- Wabash 17185
- Wayne 17191
- White 17193
- Whiteside 17195
- Will 17197
- Williamson 17199
Indiana view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Bartholomew 18005
- Brown 18013
- Carroll 18015
- Clark 18019
- Clay 18021
- Crawford 18025
- Daviess 18027
- Dubois 18037
- Gibson 18051
- Greene 18055
- Hancock 18059
- Jackson 18071
- Jasper 18073
- Jefferson 18077
- Jennings 18079
- Johnson 18081
- Knox 18083
- Lake 18089
- LaPorte 18091
- Lawrence 18093
- Marshall 18099
- Martin 18101
- Monroe 18105
- Newton 18111
- Perry 18123
- Pike 18125
- Porter 18127
- Posey 18129
- Pulaski 18131
- Scott 18143
- Spencer 18147
- Starke 18149
- Sullivan 18153
- Union 18161
- Vanderburgh 18163
- Wabash 18169
- Warrick 18173
- Washington 18175
- White 18181
Iowa view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 86 N ▾
- Adair 21001
- Ballard 21007
- Bath 21011
- Bell 21013
- Boyd 21019
- Boyle 21021
- Breathitt 21025
- Bullitt 21029
- Butler 21031
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carlisle 21039
- Carroll 21041
- Carter 21043
- Casey 21045
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Clinton 21053
- Crittenden 21055
- Cumberland 21057
- Daviess 21059
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Estill 21065
- Fleming 21069
- Floyd 21071
- Franklin 21073
- Fulton 21075
- Gallatin 21077
- Graves 21083
- Grayson 21085
- Green 21087
- Greenup 21089
- Hancock 21091
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Hart 21099
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Hopkins 21107
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Johnson 21115
- Kenton 21117
- Knott 21119
- Knox 21121
- Larue 21123
- Laurel 21125
- Lawrence 21127
- Lee 21129
- Leslie 21131
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Livingston 21139
- Lyon 21143
- Madison 21151
- Magoffin 21153
- Marshall 21157
- Martin 21159
- McCracken 21145
- McCreary 21147
- McLean 21149
- Menifee 21165
- Monroe 21171
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Muhlenberg 21177
- Ohio 21183
- Owsley 21189
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Scott 21209
- Spencer 21215
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Union 21225
- Warren 21227
- Wayne 21231
- Whitley 21235
- Wolfe 21237
Louisiana view state ↗ 32 N ▾
- Acadia 22001
- Beauregard 22011
- Bossier 22015
- Caddo 22017
- Calcasieu 22019
- Caldwell 22021
- Catahoula 22025
- Claiborne 22027
- Concordia 22029
- De Soto 22031
- East Baton Rouge 22033
- East Feliciana 22037
- Franklin 22041
- Grant 22043
- LaSalle 22059
- Lincoln 22061
- Livingston 22063
- Morehouse 22067
- Natchitoches 22069
- Orleans 22071
- Ouachita 22073
- Rapides 22079
- Richland 22083
- Sabine 22085
- St. Helena 22091
- St. Tammany 22103
- Union 22111
- Vernon 22115
- Washington 22117
- Webster 22119
- West Feliciana 22125
- Winn 22127
Massachusetts view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 44 N ▾
- Amite 28005
- Benton 28009
- Calhoun 28013
- Carroll 28015
- Choctaw 28019
- Claiborne 28021
- Copiah 28029
- Covington 28031
- DeSoto 28033
- Forrest 28035
- Franklin 28037
- George 28039
- Greene 28041
- Grenada 28043
- Hinds 28049
- Jackson 28059
- Jasper 28061
- Jones 28067
- Kemper 28069
- Lafayette 28071
- Lawrence 28077
- Leake 28079
- Lee 28081
- Leflore 28083
- Marion 28091
- Marshall 28093
- Monroe 28095
- Newton 28101
- Pearl River 28109
- Perry 28111
- Prentiss 28117
- Simpson 28127
- Smith 28129
- Stone 28131
- Tate 28137
- Tippah 28139
- Tishomingo 28141
- Walthall 28147
- Washington 28151
- Wayne 28153
- Wilkinson 28157
- Winston 28159
- Yalobusha 28161
- Yazoo 28163
Missouri view state ↗ 93 N ▾
- Adair 29001
- Audrain 29007
- Barry 29009
- Barton 29011
- Benton 29015
- Bollinger 29017
- Boone 29019
- Butler 29023
- Caldwell 29025
- Callaway 29027
- Cape Girardeau 29031
- Carroll 29033
- Carter 29035
- Cedar 29039
- Chariton 29041
- Clark 29045
- Clay 29047
- Cole 29051
- Cooper 29053
- Crawford 29055
- Dade 29057
- Dallas 29059
- Daviess 29061
- DeKalb 29063
- Dent 29065
- Douglas 29067
- Dunklin 29069
- Franklin 29071
- Gasconade 29073
- Gentry 29075
- Grundy 29079
- Harrison 29081
- Henry 29083
- Howard 29089
- Iron 29093
- Jackson 29095
- Jasper 29097
- Jefferson 29099
- Johnson 29101
- Knox 29103
- Laclede 29105
- Lafayette 29107
- Lawrence 29109
- Lewis 29111
- Lincoln 29113
- Linn 29115
- Livingston 29117
- Macon 29121
- Madison 29123
- Maries 29125
- Marion 29127
- McDonald 29119
- Mercer 29129
- Miller 29131
- Mississippi 29133
- Moniteau 29135
- Monroe 29137
- Montgomery 29139
- Morgan 29141
- Newton 29145
- Oregon 29149
- Osage 29151
- Perry 29157
- Pettis 29159
- Phelps 29161
- Pike 29163
- Pulaski 29169
- Putnam 29171
- Ralls 29173
- Randolph 29175
- Ray 29177
- Reynolds 29179
- Ripley 29181
- Saline 29195
- Schuyler 29197
- Scotland 29199
- Scott 29201
- Shannon 29203
- Shelby 29205
- St. Charles 29183
- St. Clair 29185
- St. Francois 29187
- St. Louis 29189
- Ste. Genevieve 29186
- Stoddard 29207
- Stone 29209
- Sullivan 29211
- Taney 29213
- Texas 29215
- Vernon 29217
- Warren 29219
- Washington 29221
- Wayne 29223
New Hampshire view state ↗ 3 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 18 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 13 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 59 N ▾
- Alamance 37001
- Anson 37007
- Bertie 37015
- Bladen 37017
- Brunswick 37019
- Buncombe 37021
- Burke 37023
- Cabarrus 37025
- Caswell 37033
- Catawba 37035
- Chatham 37037
- Cherokee 37039
- Clay 37043
- Cleveland 37045
- Columbus 37047
- Craven 37049
- Cumberland 37051
- Davidson 37057
- Davie 37059
- Duplin 37061
- Durham 37063
- Edgecombe 37065
- Forsyth 37067
- Franklin 37069
- Gaston 37071
- Granville 37077
- Greene 37079
- Guilford 37081
- Halifax 37083
- Harnett 37085
- Henderson 37089
- Hertford 37091
- Iredell 37097
- Johnston 37101
- Jones 37103
- Lee 37105
- Lenoir 37107
- Lincoln 37109
- Martin 37117
- Montgomery 37123
- Moore 37125
- Nash 37127
- Northampton 37131
- Orange 37135
- Pender 37141
- Person 37145
- Pitt 37147
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Robeson 37155
- Rowan 37159
- Sampson 37163
- Stanly 37167
- Stokes 37169
- Surry 37171
- Union 37179
- Wake 37183
- Warren 37185
- Yadkin 37197
Ohio view state ↗ 20 N ▾
Oklahoma view state ↗ 15 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Bucks 42017
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Forest 42053
- Fulton 42057
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Sullivan 42113
- Union 42119
- Warren 42123
- Wayne 42127
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
South Carolina view state ↗ 20 N ▾
- Aiken 45003
- Anderson 45007
- Bamberg 45009
- Barnwell 45011
- Berkeley 45015
- Charleston 45019
- Cherokee 45021
- Chester 45023
- Darlington 45031
- Dorchester 45035
- Georgetown 45043
- Greenville 45045
- Jasper 45053
- Lancaster 45057
- Laurens 45059
- Newberry 45071
- Pickens 45077
- Spartanburg 45083
- Williamsburg 45089
- York 45091
Tennessee view state ↗ 50 N ▾
- Anderson 47001
- Benton 47005
- Bledsoe 47007
- Blount 47009
- Campbell 47013
- Carroll 47017
- Chester 47023
- Clay 47027
- Cocke 47029
- Coffee 47031
- Cumberland 47035
- Decatur 47039
- DeKalb 47041
- Dickson 47043
- Dyer 47045
- Fayette 47047
- Franklin 47051
- Grundy 47061
- Hamilton 47065
- Hardeman 47069
- Hardin 47071
- Haywood 47075
- Henry 47079
- Hickman 47081
- Humphreys 47085
- Jackson 47087
- Lake 47095
- Lauderdale 47097
- Lawrence 47099
- Lewis 47101
- Lincoln 47103
- Madison 47113
- Marshall 47117
- McNairy 47109
- Monroe 47123
- Montgomery 47125
- Morgan 47129
- Obion 47131
- Polk 47139
- Rhea 47143
- Roane 47145
- Scott 47151
- Sequatchie 47153
- Sevier 47155
- Shelby 47157
- Stewart 47161
- Tipton 47167
- Weakley 47183
- White 47185
- Wilson 47189
Texas view state ↗ 22 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 75 N ▾
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Arlington 51013
- Bedford 51019
- Botetourt 51023
- Brunswick 51025
- Buchanan 51027
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Craig 51045
- Culpeper 51047
- Cumberland 51049
- Dickenson 51051
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Fluvanna 51065
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Greene 51079
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lancaster 51103
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Prince William 51153
- Richmond 51159
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Westmoreland 51193
- Wise 51195
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Berkeley 54003
- Braxton 54007
- Calhoun 54013
- Clay 54015
- Fayette 54019
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Jackson 54035
- Kanawha 54039
- Lincoln 54043
- Logan 54045
- McDowell 54047
- Mercer 54055
- Mineral 54057
- Mingo 54059
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Morgan 54065
- Nicholas 54067
- Pleasants 54073
- Pocahontas 54075
- Raleigh 54081
- Ritchie 54085
- Summers 54089
- Wayne 54099
- Webster 54101
- Wirt 54105
- Wood 54107
- Wyoming 54109
Wisconsin view state ↗ 23 N ▾
- Adams 55001
- Buffalo 55011
- Chippewa 55017
- Columbia 55021
- Crawford 55023
- Dane 55025
- Dunn 55033
- Eau Claire 55035
- Grant 55043
- Iowa 55049
- Jackson 55053
- Jefferson 55055
- La Crosse 55063
- Marquette 55077
- Pepin 55091
- Pierce 55093
- Portage 55097
- Richland 55103
- Sauk 55111
- Trempealeau 55121
- Vernon 55123
- Waupaca 55135
- Wood 55141
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/BENI ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/5331532 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z