Leaves

• 4-10 cm. in length
• oval to heart-shaped
• coarse and double-toothed
• without teeth for about 30 cm. on either side of the stalk
• smooth and dark green above
• paler with soft down below

Fruit

• small
• oval
• two-winged nutlet in enlarged female catkins
• know as a strobulus or cone when ripe

Bark

• thin, smooth and dark brown on young trees becoming a creamy-white to pinkish-white
• easily separated into papery leaves
• often used by woodsmen to kindle a camp fire

General

• most common birch and most important hardwood in the Province
• used in great quantities for fuelwood, and in manufacturing of plywood and flooring
• grow to heights of 15-21 m. with 30-50 cm in diameter
• often grow in pure stands or with conifers
• frequently one of the first species to regenerate burnover areas often by "stump sprouts"