Index / Search / Betula pumila
§1 Plant
Betula pumila L.
vernacular bog birch — species · Betulaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Shrub
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Betulaceae Gray
- Genus
- Betula
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
- SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b
County-level range
· 236 counties across 17 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- Low
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- High
- CaCO₃
- Low
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -38 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 90 min.
- Precipitation
- 16–60 in/yr
- pH range
- 5.1–8.5
- Root depth
- 18 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 20 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 20 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Dark Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Mid Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Moderate
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 2,422,000
- Propagation
- seed, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- High
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 236 counties across 17 states/territories.
California view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 56 N ▾
- Alger 26003
- Allegan 26005
- Alpena 26007
- Baraga 26013
- Barry 26015
- Benzie 26019
- Berrien 26021
- Calhoun 26025
- Cass 26027
- Charlevoix 26029
- Cheboygan 26031
- Chippewa 26033
- Clinton 26037
- Crawford 26039
- Delta 26041
- Dickinson 26043
- Emmet 26047
- Genesee 26049
- Gladwin 26051
- Gratiot 26057
- Hillsdale 26059
- Houghton 26061
- Huron 26063
- Ingham 26065
- Iosco 26069
- Isabella 26073
- Jackson 26075
- Kalamazoo 26077
- Kent 26081
- Keweenaw 26083
- Lake 26085
- Lapeer 26087
- Leelanau 26089
- Lenawee 26091
- Livingston 26093
- Luce 26095
- Mackinac 26097
- Marquette 26103
- Menominee 26109
- Midland 26111
- Missaukee 26113
- Montcalm 26117
- Montmorency 26119
- Muskegon 26121
- Oakland 26125
- Otsego 26137
- Presque Isle 26141
- Roscommon 26143
- Sanilac 26151
- Schoolcraft 26153
- Shiawassee 26155
- St. Clair 26147
- St. Joseph 26149
- Van Buren 26159
- Washtenaw 26161
- Wexford 26165
Minnesota view state ↗ 54 N ▾
- Aitkin 27001
- Anoka 27003
- Becker 27005
- Beltrami 27007
- Carlton 27017
- Carver 27019
- Cass 27021
- Chisago 27025
- Clay 27027
- Clearwater 27029
- Cook 27031
- Crow Wing 27035
- Dakota 27037
- Dodge 27039
- 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
- Mahnomen 27087
- Marshall 27089
- Mille Lacs 27095
- Morrison 27097
- Mower 27099
- Norman 27107
- Olmsted 27109
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pennington 27113
- Pine 27115
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Ramsey 27123
- Red Lake 27125
- Rice 27131
- Roseau 27135
- Scott 27139
- Sherburne 27141
- St. Louis 27137
- Stearns 27145
- Steele 27147
- Wabasha 27157
- Wadena 27159
- Washington 27163
- Winona 27169
- Wright 27171
New Jersey view state ↗ 3 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 12 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Washington view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 56 N ▾
- Adams 55001
- Ashland 55003
- Barron 55005
- Bayfield 55007
- Brown 55009
- Burnett 55013
- Chippewa 55017
- Columbia 55021
- Dane 55025
- Dodge 55027
- Door 55029
- Douglas 55031
- Florence 55037
- Fond du Lac 55039
- Forest 55041
- Green 55045
- Iowa 55049
- Iron 55051
- Jackson 55053
- Jefferson 55055
- Kenosha 55059
- La Crosse 55063
- 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
- Polk 55095
- Price 55099
- Racine 55101
- Richland 55103
- Rock 55105
- Rusk 55107
- Sauk 55111
- Sawyer 55113
- Shawano 55115
- Sheboygan 55117
- Taylor 55119
- Trempealeau 55121
- Vilas 55125
- Walworth 55127
- Washburn 55129
- Washington 55131
- Waukesha 55133
- Waupaca 55135
- Waushara 55137
- Winnebago 55139
- Wood 55141
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/BEPU4 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/5331824 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z