Index / Search / Betula papyrifera
§1 Plant
Betula papyrifera Marshall
vernacular paper 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
- AK Alaska Native
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
- SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b
County-level range
· 421 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
- High
- Salinity
- Medium
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- Low
- Hedging
- Low
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -62 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 80 min.
- Precipitation
- 12–60 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.2–7.4
- Root depth
- 24 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 70 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 40 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
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Rapid
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 1,380,800
- Propagation
- seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- Yes
- Browse palatability
- High
- Palatable, human
- Yes
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Fuelwood
- High
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 421 counties across 29 states/territories.
Alaska view state ↗ 18 N ▾
- Anchorage 02020
- Bethel 02050
- Bristol Bay 02060
- Chugach 02063
- Copper River 02066
- Denali 02068
- Dillingham 02070
- Fairbanks North Star 02090
- Haines 02100
- Juneau 02110
- Kenai Peninsula 02122
- Kodiak Island 02150
- Lake and Peninsula 02164
- Matanuska-Susitna 02170
- Nome 02180
- Northwest Arctic 02188
- Southeast Fairbanks 02240
- Yukon-Koyukuk 02290
Colorado view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 66 N ▾
- Alcona 26001
- Alger 26003
- Allegan 26005
- Alpena 26007
- Antrim 26009
- Arenac 26011
- Baraga 26013
- Benzie 26019
- Berrien 26021
- Charlevoix 26029
- Cheboygan 26031
- Chippewa 26033
- Clare 26035
- Clinton 26037
- Crawford 26039
- Delta 26041
- Dickinson 26043
- Emmet 26047
- Gladwin 26051
- Gogebic 26053
- Grand Traverse 26055
- Gratiot 26057
- Houghton 26061
- Huron 26063
- Ingham 26065
- Iosco 26069
- Iron 26071
- Isabella 26073
- Jackson 26075
- Kent 26081
- Keweenaw 26083
- Lake 26085
- Lapeer 26087
- Leelanau 26089
- Livingston 26093
- Luce 26095
- Mackinac 26097
- Macomb 26099
- Manistee 26101
- Marquette 26103
- Mason 26105
- Menominee 26109
- Midland 26111
- Missaukee 26113
- Montcalm 26117
- Montmorency 26119
- Muskegon 26121
- Newaygo 26123
- Oakland 26125
- Oceana 26127
- Ogemaw 26129
- Ontonagon 26131
- Osceola 26133
- Oscoda 26135
- Otsego 26137
- Ottawa 26139
- Presque Isle 26141
- Roscommon 26143
- Saginaw 26145
- Sanilac 26151
- Schoolcraft 26153
- Shiawassee 26155
- St. Clair 26147
- Tuscola 26157
- Washtenaw 26161
- Wayne 26163
Minnesota view state ↗ 52 N ▾
- Aitkin 27001
- Anoka 27003
- Becker 27005
- Beltrami 27007
- Benton 27009
- Blue Earth 27013
- Carlton 27017
- Cass 27021
- Chisago 27025
- Clay 27027
- Clearwater 27029
- Cook 27031
- Crow Wing 27035
- Dakota 27037
- Douglas 27041
- Fillmore 27045
- Goodhue 27049
- Hennepin 27053
- Houston 27055
- Hubbard 27057
- Isanti 27059
- Itasca 27061
- Kanabec 27065
- Kandiyohi 27067
- Kittson 27069
- Koochiching 27071
- Lake 27075
- Lake of the Woods 27077
- Le Sueur 27079
- Marshall 27089
- Mille Lacs 27095
- Morrison 27097
- Mower 27099
- Nobles 27105
- Norman 27107
- Olmsted 27109
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pine 27115
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Ramsey 27123
- Rice 27131
- Roseau 27135
- Scott 27139
- Sherburne 27141
- St. Louis 27137
- Stearns 27145
- Todd 27153
- Wabasha 27157
- Washington 27163
- Winona 27169
- Wright 27171
Montana view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 2 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 9 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 37 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Chemung 36015
- Clinton 36019
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Essex 36031
- Greene 36039
- Hamilton 36041
- Herkimer 36043
- Jefferson 36045
- Kings 36047
- Lewis 36049
- Livingston 36051
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Niagara 36063
- Ontario 36069
- Orange 36071
- Putnam 36079
- Rensselaer 36083
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- Schenectady 36093
- Schoharie 36095
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
- Wyoming 36121
North Carolina view state ↗ 1 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Allegheny 42003
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Elk 42047
- Huntingdon 42061
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Northampton 42095
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Sullivan 42113
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Warren 42123
- Wayne 42127
- Wyoming 42131
Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Washington view state ↗ 13 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 65 N ▾
- Adams 55001
- Ashland 55003
- Bayfield 55007
- Brown 55009
- Buffalo 55011
- Burnett 55013
- Chippewa 55017
- Clark 55019
- Columbia 55021
- Crawford 55023
- Dane 55025
- Door 55029
- Douglas 55031
- Dunn 55033
- Eau Claire 55035
- Florence 55037
- Fond du Lac 55039
- Forest 55041
- Grant 55043
- Green 55045
- Green Lake 55047
- Iowa 55049
- Iron 55051
- Jackson 55053
- Jefferson 55055
- Kenosha 55059
- Kewaunee 55061
- La Crosse 55063
- Lafayette 55065
- Langlade 55067
- Lincoln 55069
- Manitowoc 55071
- Marathon 55073
- Marinette 55075
- Marquette 55077
- Menominee 55078
- Milwaukee 55079
- Monroe 55081
- Oconto 55083
- Oneida 55085
- Outagamie 55087
- Ozaukee 55089
- Pepin 55091
- Pierce 55093
- Polk 55095
- Portage 55097
- Racine 55101
- Richland 55103
- Rock 55105
- Rusk 55107
- Sauk 55111
- Sawyer 55113
- Shawano 55115
- Sheboygan 55117
- St. Croix 55109
- Taylor 55119
- Trempealeau 55121
- Vernon 55123
- Vilas 55125
- Walworth 55127
- Washington 55131
- Waupaca 55135
- Waushara 55137
- Winnebago 55139
- Wood 55141
Wyoming view state ↗ 3 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/BEPA ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/5332120 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z