Betula populifolia Marshall

Gray birch, yellow birch

About plant names...

Gray birch is a North American native.

Plants: Trees reach 33' (10 m) in height, often with multiple trunks, and are pyramid-shaped in form. Bark is dark reddish brown on young trees, becoming white as the tree ages. While white birch bark is a brighter color, and tends to peel easily, gray birch bark is tighter, less likely to peel; and darker, more often interrupted by black markings that are often chevron-shaped.

Leaves: Leaves are fairly triangular in shape (ovate to deltate or rhombic, if you want to get technical). They have irregular and sometimes doubled serrations.

Flowers: Both male and female flowers are found on the same tree (“monoecious”). Male flowers are yellow-brown, 1-3" (2.5-7.6 cm) long, less than ¼" (6.3 mm) in diameter, usually drooping; female flowers are green, about 1" (2.5 cm) long, ⅛" (4.8 mm) in diameter.

Edibility: The inner bark can be cooked or dried, then ground into a meal which may be added to flour, though this is typically done only when more convenient forms of starch are not available. Sap is also edible. Though not nearly as sweet and tasty as that of some maple trees, it is a source of carbohydrates in a pinch.

Online References:

Betula populifolia on

Betula populifolia on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Betula populifolia on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Betula populifolia at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Betula populifolia at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Betula populifolia on eFloras

References:

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 153

Petrides, George A., Peterson Field Guides: Trees and Shrubs, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1972, p. 232, 338

Little, Elbert L., National Audabon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region, Alfred A. Knopf, 1980, p. 182, 598, 370

Dirr, Michael A., Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, Timber Press, 1997, p. 59

Symonds, George W. D.; photos by Chelminski, Stephen V., The Tree Identification Book, Harper, 2003, p. 44

4/14/2013 · Bemis Rd, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 15 cm)

9/18/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

6/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

3/10/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 14" (23 × 35 cm) ID is uncertain

3/10/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 12" (20 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain

4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 4½" (9.2 × 11 cm)

4/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 8" (15 × 21 cm)

Betula populifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

3/10/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm)

3/10/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/2/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 11 cm)

The slash may have been made by a black bear. · 6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 24 × 16" (62 × 41 cm)

10/13/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 8" (24 × 20 cm)

6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (16 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

Color variations on the trunk of a young tree. · 11/13/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/13/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

6/30/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 12 × 17" (29 × 44 cm)

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

Young paper birches explode around a stump left by a beaver. · 3/10/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 31" (52 × 78 cm)

10/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 15" (26 × 39 cm)

Range: Zones 3-6:

About this map...