Description
Betula alleghaniensis Yellow Birch
Yellow birch saplings will not establish in full shade (under a closed canopy) so they typically need disturbances in a forest in order to establish and grow. The tree is fairly deep-rooted and sends out several long lateral roots.
Betula alleghaniensis is a medium-sized, typically single-stemmed, deciduous tree reaching 60–80 feet (18–24 m) tall (exceptionally to 100 ft (30 m))[2][6] with a trunk typically 2–3 ft (0.61–0.91 m) in diameter, making it the largest North American species of birch.[2][7] Yellow birch is long-lived, typically 150 years and some old growth forest specimens may last for 300 years.[8]