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Index / Search / Betula occidentalis

§1 Plant

Betula occidentalis Hook.

vernacular water birch — species · Betulaceae

USDA
BEOC2
GBIF
5332055
Rank
species
water birch (Betula occidentalis)
Platephotograph · Scott C. Smith source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Betulaceae Gray
Genus
Betula
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Native
  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 212 counties across 15 states/territories
Legend Native · 212 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
High
Fire
High
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Medium
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-62 °F minimum
Frost-free days
140 min.
Precipitation
10–70 in/yr
pH range
5.5–7.8
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
25 ft
Height @ 20 y
25 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Moderate
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Spring
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
402,000
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Medium
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Fuelwood
Medium
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 212 counties across 15 states/territories.

Alaska view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 4 N ▾
California view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Colorado view state ↗ 22 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 33 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 21 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Nevada view state ↗ 7 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 6 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 10 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 20 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Utah view state ↗ 29 N ▾
Washington view state ↗ 18 N ▾
Wyoming view state ↗ 19 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/BEOC2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5332055 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z