Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)

A deciduous tree from the Birch Family (Betulaceae)

Yellow Birch is a tree found extensively in New England, southern Canada, the upper Midwest, and Appalachia as a co-dominant tree in forests where Eastern Hemlock, White Pine, Sugar Maple, American Beech, and other hardwoods are the climax species. In Ohio, it is found abundantly in the northeastern quarter of the state, and locally elsewhere in the eastern half of the state, especially along the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau (hence the scientific name). It is prized for its heavy, hard wood (used as a finish wood or veneer in furniture, cabinetry, doors, and floors, and often stained or varnished), and its excellent yellow fall color.

Yellow Birch is named for its silvery-yellow, thinly peeling bark that develops with maturity, and was formerly classified as Betula lutea. When found in the open, it may reach 70 feet tall and 50 feet wide as an individual tree. As a member of the Birch Family, it is related to the Alders, Hornbeams, Filberts, and Hophornbeams, in addition to other Birches. It is often found growing alongside Black Birch (with which it is often confused) in forests, and these two species are among the first to colonize fields and roadway cuts.

Planting Requirements - Yellow Birch prefers moist, rich, deep, well-drained, acidic soils in sites that have relatively cool summers. It tolerates drier soils, and somewhat tolerates soils of alkaline or neutral pH, but does not compete well in the wild or perform well in urban landscapes under these conditions. It grows in full sun to partial shade, and is found in zones 3 to 7.

Potential Problems - Yellow Birch, like many Birches, has many pathogens (leaf diseases, trunk rot, bark cankers) and pests (bronze birch borer being the worst) which can cause either cosmetic (non-lethal) or lethal injury to the tree. The most common cases where this occurs is when the tree is grown outside of its natural range, where it undergoes environmental stresses (high pH soils, dry soils, hot summers, and mild winters) that make it susceptible to biological infections or infestations.

Leaf Identification Features

Leaves of Yellow Birch are alternate, elliptical to ovate, and singly to doubly serrated on their margins.

In spring, they have a velvety pubescence, but by summer they become dark green and shiny. In autumn, the leaves of Yellow Birch turn bright yellow and gold.

Other Identification Features

As with all members of the monoecious Birch Family, the immature catkins (male flowers) of Yellow Birch form during summer, when they are green and stubby in the leaf axils. The female flowers form within the lateral buds and are not seen until early leaf emergence the following spring, when both they and the catkins are fully open. Fertilized female flowers give rise to green cones in spring, which later turn brown and shatter, releasing their seeds in late summer and early autumn.

The texture of Yellow Birch in winter is medium-fine, with its ascending branches having thin, sparsely pubescent twigs and small, blunt, moderately pubescent buds.

Young Yellow Birch trees have shiny silver-gray, yellow-brown, or red-brown bark in winter, with prominent, lighter-colored lenticels . With maturity, the bark becomes yellow-silver in color and develops thin peels that exfoliate in a horizontal fashion.

With respect to identification features, it is sometimes difficult to separate Yellow Birch (named for its yellowish bark) from Black Birch (named for its blackish bark), especially on younger trees. Making the task more difficult is the fact that they often inhabit the same environments.