| + | Betula papyrifera, Marsh. (B. papyracea, Ait. B. grandis, Schrad.). Paper or Canoe Birch. Figs. 550, 551. Tree, 60-80, exceptionally 120, ft.: branchlets slightly glandular, hairy when young: Lvs. ovate, narrowed to cordate at the base, acuminate, coarsely and usually doubly serrate, pubescent on the veins beneath or nearly glabrous, 1½-4½ in. long: strobiles ……ed, 1-2 in. long; scales with short and broad divergent lateral lobes. Northern states from the Atlantic to Pacific coast. S.S. 9:451. Em. 238. G.F. 8:223. H.T. 120,121. I.T. 4:125.—Ornamental tree, with very white trunk and a loose, graceful head when older. Bark known for its use in making Indian canoes. Var. cordifolia, Regel (B. pyrifolia and B. platyphylla, Hort.). Lvs. broadly ovate, usually cordate. S.S. 14:724. Var. minor, Tuckm. Low, bushy tree with smaller Lvs. and frs. Mts. of New England and N. Y. |
− | Paper birch is a [[pioneer species]]. It needs high nutrients and a lot of sun. Birch bark is a winter staple food for [[moose]]. The nutritional quality is poor, but is important to wintering moose because of its sheer abundance. Although [[white-tailed deer]] consider Birch a "secondary-choice food", it is an important dietary component. In Minnesota, white-tailed deer eat considerable amounts of paper birch leaves in the fall. [[Snowshoe hare]]s browse paper birch seedlings, [[porcupine]]s feed on the inner bark and [[mouse|mice]] eat the seeds. | + | Paper birch is a [[pioneer species]]. It needs high nutrients and a lot of sun. Birch bark is a winter staple food for [[moose]]. The nutritional quality is poor, but is important to wintering moose because of its sheer abundance. Although [[white-tailed deer]] consider Birch a "secondary-choice food", it is an important dietary component. In Minnesota, white-tailed deer eat considerable amounts of paper birch leaves in the fall. [[Snowshoe hare]]s browse paper birch seedlings, [[porcupine]]s feed on the inner bark and [[mouse|mice]] eat the seeds. |