Family: Betulaceae, Birch view all from this family

Description Large, aromatic tree with broad, rounded crown of drooping branches and slight odor of wintergreen in crushed twigs and foliage.
Height: 70-100' (21-30 m).
Diameter: 2 1/2' (0.8 m).
Leaves: 3-5" (7.5-13 cm) long, 1 1/2-2" (4-5 cm) wide. Elliptical, short-pointed or rounded at base; sharply and doubly saw-toothed; mostly with 9-11 veins on each side; hairy when young. Dark dull green above, light yellow-green beneath; turning bright yellow in autumn.
Bark: shiny yellowish or silvery-gray; separating into papery curly strips; becoming reddish-brown and fissured into scaly plates.
Twigs: greenish-brown, slender, hairy.
Flowers: tiny; in early spring. Male yellowish, with 2 stamens, many in long drooping catkins near tip of twigs. Female greenish, in short upright catkins back of tip of same twig.
Cones: 3/4-1 1/4" (2-3 cm) long; oblong; hairy; brownish; upright; nearly stalkless; with many hairy scales and 2-winged nutlets; maturing in autumn.

Habitat Cool moist uplands including mountain ravines; with hardwoods and conifers.

Range Extreme SE. Manitoba east to S. Newfoundland, south to extreme NE. Georgia, and west to NE. Iowa; to 2500' (762 m) in north and 3000-6000' (914-1829 m) or higher in south.

Discussion One of the most valuable birches and one of the largest hardwoods in northeastern North America. Yellow Birch when fairly mature is easily recognized by its distinctive bark. Young specimens, which may be mistaken for Sweet Birch, are most readily identified by their hairy twigs and buds and most persistently hairy leaves with mostly unbranched side veins.