Water Birch
Betula occidentalis
Water birch is a multi-stemmed western shrub or small tree of mountain streamsides, with shiny reddish-bronze, non-peeling bark. Valuable for riparian plantings in the Rockies and Great Basin.
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 10–40 ft
- Spacing
- 10–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- moist, wet
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- yellow, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~411 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen, rain garden
- Native states
- AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY
Related native plants
More Betula species
- Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
- Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
- River Birch (Betula nigra)
- Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
- Gray Birch (Betula populifolia)
- Bog Birch (Betula pumila)