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Sweet Birch

Betula lenta

Sweet birch has dark cherry-like bark and aromatic wintergreen twigs that were once the source of birch beer. Glowing yellow fall color and adaptability to drier upland sites set it apart. That wintergreen scent is methyl salicylate, severely toxic taken orally and absorbed through skin — a caution for anyone distilling the bark, not for standing under the tree.

Family

Betulaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

40–75 ft

Spacing

35–40 ft apart

Light

part shade, shade

Soil moisture

dry, moist

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

April, May

Bloom colors

red, yellow, green, brown

Wildlife value

butterflies, pollinators, mammals, songbirds, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~411 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

naturalizing

Native states

AL, CT, DE, GA, KY, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV