Marsh.
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.952179
Element CodePDBET02060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderFagales
FamilyBetulaceae
GenusBetula
Other Common NamesBouleau à papier (FR) White Birch (EN)
Concept ReferenceFlora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
Taxonomic CommentsThis record is for Betula papyrifera in the narrow sense, excluding B. cordifolia and B. kenaica as distinct species and including B. papyrifera var. commutata as indistinct, as recognized in FNA (1997). Other treatments (e.g., Kartesz (1999)) recognize these taxa as varieties of B. papyrifera. Ashburner and McAllister's (2016) treatment is similar, though they are less certain about the distinctiveness of B. kenaica (reported only from Alaska and Yukon by FNA). Weakley et al. (2024) also include var. commutata as indistinct and treat B. cordifolia as a distinct species.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-08-14
Change Date2015-09-23
Edition Date2024-08-14
Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2024).
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank ReasonsPaper Birch (Betula papyrifera) occurs in North America, across southern and boreal Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, Yukon, and Northwest Territories, and in the United States in Alaska and across the northern Continental United States from Maine to Virginia, and west to Colorado, Oregon and Washington. There are estimated to be more than 9000 occurrences, including on various National Forests, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, State Forests, State Parks, and State Wildlife Management Areas. It is threatened by residential development and urbanization in certain areas. It is a successional tree, which comes up readily after fires, after logging, or in old fields which were previously farmed.
Range Extent CommentsPaper Birch (Betula papyrifera) occurs in North America, it is known from St. Pierre and Miquelon, from across southern and boreal Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, Yukon, and Northwest Territories, and in the United States in Alaska and across the northern Continental United States from Maine south to Virginia, and west to Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. The native range extent was estimated to be 16 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 and published distribution maps (FNA 1997, GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, POWO 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences CommentsBy applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, there are estimated to be more than 9000 occurrences of Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact CommentsPaper Birch (Betula papyrifera) is threatened by residential development and urbanization in certain areas. It is a successional tree, which comes up readily after fires, after logging, or in old fields which were previously farmed (FNA 1997).