Plant Guide

Betula occidentalis Hook.
water birch
BEOC2

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree, Shrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FAC, FACW

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat
C:N Ratio	Medium
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Moderate
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Medium
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Single Stem
Growth Rate	Rapid
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	40
Height, Mature (feet)	50
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Short
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Erect
Toxicity	None

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	Low
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	No
Drought Tolerance	Low
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	High
Frost Free Days, Minimum	140
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	High
pH, Minimum	5.5
pH, Maximum	7
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	300
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	700
Precipitation, Minimum	16
Precipitation, Maximum	50
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	20
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intermediate
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-28

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Mid Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Medium
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Spring
Fruit/Seed Period End	Spring
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	402000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	Medium
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	Medium
Palatable Graze Animal
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass Hamamelididae

Order Fagales

Family Betulaceae -- Birch family

Genus Betula L. -- birch P

Species Betula occidentalis Hook. -- water birch P

Alternative Names

Rocky Mountain birch, mountain birch, red birch, black birch, spring birch

Uses

Economic: The wood is hard and heavy and is used for firewood and fence posts (Hosie 1969).

Wildlife: Goats, sheep, mule deer, and elk browse Water birch. Beavers harvest the stems of water birch to aid in their construction of dams and lodges. The broad-tailed hummingbird and red-napped sapsucker feed on sap oozing from holes in the bark made by sapsuckers (Gullion 1964).

Agroforestry: Water birch is used in forested riparian buffers to help reduce stream bank erosion, protect aquatic environments, enhance wildlife, and increase biodiversity.

Description

General: Birch family (Betulaceae). Water birch (Betula occidentalis) is a small native tree or shrub that grows in clusters along the banks of streams and lakes. The leaves are thin, ovate, rather coarsely toothed and are usually 1-2 inches long. The fruit is tiny hairy nutlets with wings broader than the seed. The bark is thin, dark reddish-brown to black, with mark horizontal slits, and does not peel like other birches.

Distribution: White birch is distributed from southern Manitoba to southern Alaska and North Dakota and south to California and New Mexico. For current distribution, please consult the Plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

Adaptation

Betula occidentalis is very shade tolerant. It is mostly found in wet to moist nutrient-rich soils, along streams, in mountain canyons, usually in coniferous forest (Little 1980). Water birch occurs on a wide variety of soil textures generally at low to middle elevations.

Establishment

Propagation from Seed: Seeds may be collected from local trees for establishing nursery stock. Sow the seeds as soon as they are ripe in containers or seed trays containing a slow-release fertilized. Firm the medium and sow the seeds thinly and evenly on top, and lightly cover with medium. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle they should be placed into individual pots. Once seedlings are 18-30 inches tall remove from individual pots and outplant to premature location.

Management

Nursery grown seedlings should be planted onto moist sites. The seedlings should be transplanted when they are one to two years old. The best time for transplanting is in the spring as the buds begin to turn green.

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government”. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

References

Arno, S.F. 1977. Northwest trees. The Mountaineers, Seattle, Washington.

Brinkman, K.A. 1974. Seeds of wood plants in the United States. USDA Agriculture Handbook 450. Washington, D.C.

Dirr, M.A. 1990. Manual of woody landscape plants: their identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation, and uses. Stibes Publishing Company, Champaign, Illinois.

Gullion, G.W. 1964. Wildlife uses of Nevada plants. Contributions toward a Flora of Nevada No. 49. Beltsville, Maryland.

Heuser, C.W. 1997. The complete book of plant propagation. The Taunton Press, Newtown, Connecticut.

Hosie, R.C. 1969. Native trees of Canada. 7^th ed. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Lanner, R.M. 1983. Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History. University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada.

Little, E.L. 1980. National Audubon Society field guide to North American trees: western region. Alfred A. Knopf Inc., New York, New York.

Munz, P.A. 1965. A California flora. University of California Press, Berkely and Los Angeles, California.

Nelson, R.A. 1992. Handbook of Rocky Mountain plants. Roberts Rinehart Publishers, Niwot, Colorado.

Sargent, C.S. 1922. Manual of the trees of North America. Vol. 1. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

Van Dersal, W.R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, D.C.

Prepared By

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Species Coordinator

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 09jan02 jsp; 25feb03 ahv; 31may06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture