River Birch

Arbor walk #93, TreeKeeper ID #5649

A tree native to the Eastern and Midwestern United States, River Birch is also known as black birch. As a relatively heat resistant tree in the birch family, the river birch tree’s distribution extends further south than most other birch trees. 

River birches have papery bark that is considered scaly, and often has multiple thin trunks rather than one large trunk. River Birch functions as an ecologically valuable species because of its flood-resilience and ability to mitigate impacts of acid mine drainage. The bark of river birch is also considered a survival food. As an ornamental tree, the ‘BNMTF’ cultivar is very similar to the ‘Cully’ cultivar in that it is a lighter colored tree that is resistant to the bronze birch borer, a beetle. The bark of ‘BNMTF’ is shinier than that of ‘Cully’, growing 40’ tall and 30’ wide.

More information on the River Birches in our Arboretum here!

Common NameRiver Birch
Latin NameBetula nigra
Indigenous Name(s) 
Cultivar/Variety‘BNMTF’
Commercial NameDura Heat

Take a Look Around