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Birch | |
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|  | | Alaska birchBetula neoalaskana Sarg. | |
Alaska birch is a small (<13 m) tree. It has a narrow crown with upright branches. The creamy-white mature bark peels off in papery layers. A distinct feature of Alaska birch is that the twigs are covered with resin-glands.
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|  | | Cherry birchBetula lenta L. | |
Cherry birch is a small (<15 m) tree. The smooth young bark matures into thick irregular plates. A distinguishing feature of this tree is a strong wintergreen taste from its broken twigs. First Peoples made a medicinal drink from steeped twigs.
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|  | | Grey birchBetula populifolia Marsh. | |
Grey birch is a fast-growing, short-lived, small (<13 m) tree. Its leaves have noticeable long drawn-out tips. Stands of grey birch provide thermal cover and food for many species of wildlife, including the yellow-bellied sapsucker, which can often be seen drilling the bark to drink the sap.
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|  | | Water birchBetula occidentalis Hook. | |
Water birch is a small (<12 m) tree. It has a wide distribution throughout western Canada. Water birch is found along the edges of streams. Its roots are very tolerant of flooding. It has smooth, shiny, dark red-brown bark, with noticeable thin horizontal lines. Water birch seeds are an important source of food for many birds.
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|  | | White birchBetula papyrifera Marsh. | |
White birch is a medium-sized (>22 m) tree, so named because of its smooth creamy white mature bark, which peels off. It has a very wide distribution throughout Canada. After a disturbance like fire, white birch can reproduce itself quickly by developing sprouts around the base of its trunk. It is the provincial tree of Saskatchewan.
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|  | | Yellow birchBetula alleghaniensis Britton | |
Yellow birch is a slow-growing, medium-sized (>20 m) tree. The bark has conspicuous lenticles (long horizontal markings), is yellowish or bronze during the early stages of its life, and takes on dark reddish colours as it matures. Ungulates and hares forage on leaves and young twigs during the summer and winter. Yellow birch is the provincial tree of Quebec.
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