Native Birch Trees In Michigan: 3 Types To Know
With its extensive forests and beautiful landscapes, Michigan’s natural beauty is a sight. The birch tree is one of the most well-known trees in the state, contributing to its green appearance.
These beautiful trees are an important part of Michigan’s ecosystem and have been used for medicine and cultural purposes for hundreds of years. There are so many different kinds of birch trees that it can be hard to figure out which ones are native to the area.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at three types of native birch trees in Michigan and talk about their different traits that help you easily identify these trees.
So, let’s get started.
1. Sweet Birch
- Common Name: Sweet Birch
- Scientific Name: Betula lenta
- Mature Height: 50-70 feet (15-21 meters)
- Flowers/Cones: Winged nutlets in a cone-like seed catkin, 1/2-1 inch (1-2.5 cm) long
- Uses: Sap can be tapped for syrup, and European settlers made birch beer by fermenting it with honey.
The Sweet Birch is a deciduous tree with a single straight trunk and a round, uneven crown. It is also known as the Cherry Birch and the Black Birch due to the reddish hue of its bark when young.
This massive tree, which can grow to heights of 70 feet, is native to the eastern United States. It has simple, oval leaves that are two to three inches long with a sharp tip, finely serrated border, and straight veins. The leaves have a yellowish green upper surface and a paler lower surface.
The upright, cone-shaped seed catkin of the Sweet Birch has winged nutlets. This is one of the native birch trees in Michigan that turns to a brilliant shade of golden in autumn.
This tree is found only in secluded areas with particularly rich, moist soils, and it is particularly picky about the conditions it need to thrive.
When split or crushed, fresh twigs of the Sweet Birch exude a pungent wintergreen smell. Syrup can be harvested from the tree’s sap, and early European immigrants fermented a mixture of sap syrup and honey to create birch beer.
The Bronze Birch Borer destroys most birch trees, but the Sweet Birch can survive it. When young, it resembles the Yellow Birch, but its hairy leaf buds and reddish-brown bark help set it apart.
2. Paper Birch
- Common Name: Paper Birch
- Scientific Name: Betula papyrifera
- Mature Height: 40-60 feet (12-18 meters)
- Flowers/Cones: Catkin, 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long; many winged nutlets, each ⅛ inch (.3 cm) wide in a cone-like seed catkin.
- Uses: American Indians used the white bark to construct canoes, baskets, and water containers, and dried bark was used to start campfires.
The Paper Birch also goes by the names White Birch and Canoe Birch. This tree can reach a height of 40-60 feet (12-18 metres), with one or more crooked trunks, drooping limbs, and a narrow open crown, and can live for hundreds of years.
Paper birch trees have alternately connected, simple leaves that range in shape from oval to triangular and are anywhere from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimetres) in length. The top of the leaves are a drab green colour, while the underside is lighter.
The inner bark is often shown when the outside, white bark peels away in curled sheets. The bark has black horizontal lines. The Paper Birch has small, red blooms that grow in catkins, and it bears winged nutlets that are little about an eighth of an inch (.3 centimetre) wide.
Paper Birch has become a popular tree species due to its rapid adaptability. Furthermore, they are the most common native birch trees in Michigan.
American Indians built canoes, baskets, and water containers out of the tree’s white bark and used the dried bark to kindle fires.
It is not suggested to grow this tree on suburban lawns because of the significant risk of pest infestation; it is an understory species that prefers damp soils and high humidity.
Plantings of paper birch are popular in urban and suburban areas across the northern half of the United States and Canada. This includes the entire Upper Peninsula and the northwest two-thirds of the Lower Peninsula.
3. Yellow Birch
- Common Name: Yellow Birch
- Scientific Name: Betula alleghaniensis
- Mature Height: 50-70 feet (15-21 meters)
- Flowers/Cones: Catkin, 1-2 inches long; Cone-like seed catkin, 1 inch long, that grows upright on branch
- Uses: Wood for furniture and veneers, Twigs for tea
Yellow Birch, or Betula alleghaniensis, is a birch that can grow to be 50-70 feet tall with a single stem and spreading branches. It features an uneven circular crown with drooping tips.
The bark of this species is bronze-to-yellow, making it simpler to recognise. When crushed, the twigs of Yellow Birch emit a lovely fragrance of wintergreen (methyl salicylate).
This is one of the few birch trees in Michigan that can thrive in wet conditions. This tree, also known as Swamp Birch, produces large seed crops every couple of years and is typically underutilized in landscaping for the same reason.
Yellow Birch leaves are dull green and simple, oval to lance-shaped, alternately connected and pointed at the tip, with a double-toothed margin. During the autumn season, they turn yellow. The tree’s flowers are in the form of catkins that are 1-2 inches long.
The fruit of the tree is cone-shaped with many winged nutlets, housed in a 1 inch long catkin that grows upright on the branch. Yellow birch is a North American native that grows in rich moist soils, frequently in wet areas. Alleghaniensis means “yellow” and alludes to the species’ bronze-to-yellow bark.
The tree’s sensitive twigs can be used to make tea, while the wood is utilised to make furniture and veneers. Deer, on the other hand, frequently feed on seedlings.
Native Birch Trees In Michigan – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This section answers some of the most commonly asked questions related to birch trees in Michigan. These questions came straight from online forums and threads where gardeners and tree lovers often spend time.
Does Michigan have birch trees?
Birch trees can be found in Michigan. In fact, Michigan is home to several native species of birch trees, including the paper birch (Betula papyrifera), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), and river birch (Betula nigra). These trees are prevalent in the state’s forests and woodlands and are prized for their attractive bark, delicate foliage, and resilience. Birch trees are also important habitats for many wildlife species and are valued for their ecological and cultural value.
What is the white-barked birch that is commonly seen in Michigan?
The white-barked birch tree that is commonly seen in Michigan is Paper Birch, scientifically known as Betula papyrifera.
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Sources
The Regional Gardening team makes sure that the information in our articles is accurate by only using sources that are known to be trustworthy. Some of these sources are peer-reviewed journals from government agencies, well-known universities, and scientific research organizations.
- Book – Michigan Trees A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region
- Book – Field Manual of Michigan Flora
- Book – Trees Of Michigan Field Guide
- Michigan’s Forests, Department of Natural Resources
- Michigan Botanical Society
- LSA Herbarium, University Of Michigan
- Department Of Forestry, Michigan State University
- Michigan Nature Association
