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Champion Information:
Height (Ft): 53
Circumference (In): 113
Average Crown Spread (Ft): 46
Total Points: 178
Nominator Name: Maynard Drawson
Location: Wallowa County, The tree is located 0.75 miles past Milepost 11 on the Little Sheep Creek Highway between Joseph and Imnaha. Southeast side of Little Sheep Creek, accessible by a foot bridge crossing the creek. Tree is visible from highway.
Species Information:
Uses
Economic: The wood is hard and heavy and is used for firewood and fence posts (Hosie 1969).
Wildlife: Goats, sheep, mule deer, and elk browse Water birch. Beavers harvest the stems of water birch to
aid in their construction of dams and lodges.
The broad-tailed hummingbird and red-napped sapsucker feed on sap oozing
from holes in the bark made by sapsuckers (Gullion 1964).
Agroforestry: Water birch is used in forested riparian buffers to help reduce stream
bank erosion, protect aquatic environments, enhance wildlife, and increase
biodiversity.
Description
General: Birch family (Betulaceae). Water birch (Betula occidentalis) is a small native tree or shrub that grows in clusters along the banks of streams and lakes. The leaves are thin, ovate, rather coarsely toothed and are usually 1-2 inches long. The fruit is tiny hairy nutlets with wings broader than the seed. The bark is thin, dark reddish-brown to black, with mark horizontal slits, and does not peel like other birches.
Distribution: White birch is distributed from southern Manitoba
to southern Alaska and North
Dakota and south to California
and New Mexico. For current distribution, please consult the
Plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.
Adaptation
Betula occidentalis is very shade tolerant. It is mostly found in wet to moist nutrient-rich soils, along streams, in mountain canyons, usually in coniferous forest (Little 1980). Water birch occurs on a wide variety of soil textures generally at low to middle elevations.
Establishment
Propagation from Seed: Seeds may be collected from local trees for establishing nursery stock. Sow the seeds as soon as they are ripe in containers or seed trays containing a slow-release fertilized. Firm the medium and sow the seeds thinly and evenly on top, and lightly cover with medium. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle they should be placed into individual pots. Once seedlings are 18-30 inches tall remove from individual pots and outplant to premature location.
Management
Nursery grown seedlings should be planted onto moist sites. The seedlings should be transplanted when they are one to two years old. The best time for transplanting is in the spring as the buds begin to turn green.
From Plant Database: www.plants.usda.gov
