Betula platyphylla
Asian White Birch

Family:

Betulaceae (Birch Family) 27

Genus:

Betula (Birch) 12

Plant Type:

Tree 581

Hardiness:

USDA Zone 4 497

Deciduous / Evergreen:

Deciduous 807

Flowers:

Brown (Small, greenish-brown catkins; not ornamentally important)

Foliage:

Green (Glossy dark green foliage in the summer); Yellow (Yellow fall leaf color)

Fruit:

Brown (Small nutlets; not ornamentally important)

Ultimate Height:

40-50 feet

Ultimate Spread:

40-50 feet

Light Requirements:

Soil:

Prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils; especially well adapted to wet soils and does not do well in dry situations

Range:

Western China

Diagnostic Characteristics:

Leaves (1.5-3" long) are doubly serrated and have a wider (more truncate) base, longer tapering apex point, and stay green longer than Betula papyrifera. Betula platyphylla often has axillary tufts under leaf in vein axils, and a slightly whiter bark than Betula papyrifera. Resinous glands are present on young stems. Even using these features, delimitation of these two Betula species is difficult.

Special Characteristics:

Wet Soil Tolerant 105

Additional Information

Graceful tree, interesting for its pure white bark, and especially well adapted to wet soils. Does not do well in dry situations. Less subject to the borer troubles of B. papyrifera in the Midwest, although still susceptible.