Habitat and Range
Birch grows along waterways and in moist places from 2000 ft to 9000 ft in all parts of the Sierra. Its catkin flowers bloom from April to May.
Physical Description
This white to reddish-brown tree can reach 30 ft tall. The bark has long horizontal lenticels and sometimes black patches around the branch insertions. The leaves are generally ovate in shape and sometimes have an acute tip. The base of the leaf is entire and tapered to the petiole, whereas the leaf margins are coarsely serrate to dentate. The petiole is less than 15 mm long. The inflorescence is either a staminate catkin or pistillate strobile (cone). The staminate catkin that bears pollen has 4 sepals and 2 stamens and arises alternately on the branches (not terminally like Alders). The pistillate cone is approximately 1.5 inches long and sheds its scales and seeds at maturity.
Food Uses
Birch trees can be tapped like maple to obtain the sap. Drill or puncture a small hole in to the tree 2 inches deep at an upward angle in early spring and insert a guide-straw for the sap to drain on-to and off-of. If you place or hang a bucket underneath the guide-straw, you can leave it and return a few hours later without having to constantly monitor the slow drip process. The cambium (or inner bark; vascular tissue) is edible raw or dried and boiled like pasta. Young leaves and catkins are also edible.
Medicinal Uses
Birch leaf tea is a great mouthwash and can be used to treat urinary problems.
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