Betula occidentalis
Water birch · also Red birch, Mountain birch, Western birch
Report an issue with this species
Betula occidentalis is a deciduous shrub or small tree often found along streams in mountainous regions of western North America. It typically grows as a multi-stemmed plant with dark reddish-brown bark, and it has a low tolerance for drought conditions. Its foliage and seeds provide food for various birds and mammals.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 1270.04%—3.0 in
- 260.01%—3.3 in
- 120.03%9.8 yr2.4 in
- 40.00%—3.5 in
- 20.00%—1.6 in
- 20.00%—2.4 in
- 10.00%——
- 10.00%—1.5 in
Traits
- Form
- Multi-trunk
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Mature height
- 15–46 ft
- Canopy spread
- 10–20 ft
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Drought tolerance
- Low
- Wildlife value
- High
Trunk diameters across every city: median 3.0 in, mean 4.9 in, 90th percentile 9.7 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Temperate Conifer Forests
- Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests
- Arizona Mountains forests
- British Columbia coastal conifer forests
- Central British Columbia Mountain forests
- Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
- Colorado Rockies forests
- North Cascades conifer forests
- Northern California coastal forests
- Northern Pacific Alaskan coastal forests
- Northern Rockies conifer forests
- Sierra Nevada forests
- South Central Rockies forests
Boreal Forests/Taiga
- Northwest Territories taiga
Other Betula in the catalogue
20 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
