Fun Facts About Yellow Birch Trees

Ornamental Features

• The bark of the yellow birch greatly increases its value. The showy bark peels off the trunk and branches in thin shreds, rolling up as it does so. Amber, shiny yellow or silver-gray are among the colors you will see on the bark. The green leaves change to an attractive yellow color in fall. Breaking the twigs allows the refreshing aroma of wintergreen to emerge. The foliage creates a light shade beneath the yellow birch.

As a Food Source

• Numerous animals depend on the yellow birch as a food source. White-tailed deer, moose and the snowshoe hare browse on the twigs, bark and foliage, with deer devouring yellow birch seedlings in summer. Yellow birch seedlings die after repeated heavy browsing by deer and moose. The seeds and flowers of yellow birch provide nutrition for red squirrels, while porcupines and beavers make meals out of the bark. The seeds of yellow birch are part of the diets of redpolls, chickadees, pine siskins and ruffed grouse.

More Uses

• Native Americans constructed baskets, buckets, trays and dishes from the yellow birch bark. The decorative bark became part of the adornment of their coffins, while they also made birch bark canoes and used the bark on their dwellings. Modern artisans create furniture, cabinets, paneling, veneer and interior doors from the wood.

Similar Species

• Another birch that shares much of its range with the yellow birch is the sweet birch (Betula lenta). This birch grows to similar heights, but its bark is shiny dark brown to blackish. One way to tell sweet birch from yellow birch is to smell the inner bark or the broken twigs. Sweet birch features the same wintergreen fragrance, but it is much more pronounced than that of the yellow birch.