60-75' × 40-50' Also called Betula lutea.
The deep golden-yellow exfoliating bark glows and dazzles with a satiny sheen. Yellow birch can grow to be a grand old tree that bursts through the forest canopy.
Valuable timber for veneer, furniture and flooring. The 700-year-old canoe found in Maine in 2019 was made from a single birch log. The twigs make a wonderful tasty pink tea. According to UMaine Cooperative Extension, it hosts the larva of white admiral and banded purple butterflies and is a common nesting choice for red-shouldered hawks.
Rusty yellow fall foliage. Wide-branching rounded form in the open; irregular in the woods. Shade-tolerant. Adaptable but prefers moist rich well-drained acid soil. Appears to be holding up in the face of climate challenges in Maine forests. Native to eastern North America. Zone 3.
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