§1 Plant
Betula nigra L.
vernacular river birch — species · Betulaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Betulaceae Gray
- Genus
- Betula
§2a
Native status, by region
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 473 counties across 14 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- None
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -31 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 150 min.
- Precipitation
- 30–80 in/yr
- pH range
- 3–6.5
- Root depth
- 20 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 70 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 35 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Brown
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Mid Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Spring
- Spread rate
- Rapid
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 374,400
- Propagation
- seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Fuelwood
- Low
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 473 counties across 14 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 60 N ▾
- Autauga 01001
- Barbour 01005
- Bibb 01007
- Blount 01009
- Bullock 01011
- Butler 01013
- Calhoun 01015
- Chambers 01017
- Cherokee 01019
- Chilton 01021
- Choctaw 01023
- Clay 01027
- Cleburne 01029
- Coffee 01031
- Colbert 01033
- Conecuh 01035
- Coosa 01037
- Covington 01039
- Crenshaw 01041
- Cullman 01043
- Dale 01045
- Dallas 01047
- DeKalb 01049
- Elmore 01051
- Escambia 01053
- Etowah 01055
- Fayette 01057
- Franklin 01059
- Geneva 01061
- Greene 01063
- Hale 01065
- Henry 01067
- Houston 01069
- Jackson 01071
- Jefferson 01073
- Lauderdale 01077
- Lawrence 01079
- Lee 01081
- Limestone 01083
- Lowndes 01085
- Macon 01087
- Madison 01089
- Marengo 01091
- Marion 01093
- Marshall 01095
- Mobile 01097
- Montgomery 01101
- Perry 01105
- Pickens 01107
- Pike 01109
- Randolph 01111
- Russell 01113
- Shelby 01117
- Talladega 01121
- Tallapoosa 01123
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Walker 01127
- Washington 01129
- Wilcox 01131
- Winston 01133
Arkansas view state ↗ 70 N ▾
- Arkansas 05001
- Ashley 05003
- Baxter 05005
- Benton 05007
- Boone 05009
- Bradley 05011
- Calhoun 05013
- Carroll 05015
- Clark 05019
- Clay 05021
- Cleburne 05023
- Cleveland 05025
- Columbia 05027
- Conway 05029
- Craighead 05031
- Crawford 05033
- Crittenden 05035
- Cross 05037
- Dallas 05039
- Drew 05043
- Faulkner 05045
- Franklin 05047
- Garland 05051
- Grant 05053
- Greene 05055
- Hempstead 05057
- Hot Spring 05059
- Howard 05061
- Independence 05063
- Izard 05065
- Jackson 05067
- Jefferson 05069
- Johnson 05071
- Lafayette 05073
- Lawrence 05075
- Lee 05077
- Little River 05081
- Logan 05083
- Lonoke 05085
- Madison 05087
- Marion 05089
- Miller 05091
- Mississippi 05093
- Monroe 05095
- Montgomery 05097
- Nevada 05099
- Newton 05101
- Ouachita 05103
- Perry 05105
- Pike 05109
- Poinsett 05111
- Polk 05113
- Pope 05115
- Prairie 05117
- Pulaski 05119
- Randolph 05121
- Saline 05125
- Scott 05127
- Searcy 05129
- Sebastian 05131
- Sevier 05133
- Sharp 05135
- St. Francis 05123
- Stone 05137
- Union 05139
- Van Buren 05141
- Washington 05143
- White 05145
- Woodruff 05147
- Yell 05149
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Alachua 12001
- Baker 12003
- Bay 12005
- Calhoun 12013
- Columbia 12023
- Dixie 12029
- Escambia 12033
- Franklin 12037
- Gadsden 12039
- Gilchrist 12041
- Hamilton 12047
- Holmes 12059
- Jackson 12063
- Jefferson 12065
- Lafayette 12067
- Leon 12073
- Levy 12075
- Liberty 12077
- Nassau 12089
- Okaloosa 12091
- Santa Rosa 12113
- Suwannee 12121
- Taylor 12123
- Union 12125
- Walton 12131
- Washington 12133
Georgia view state ↗ 45 N ▾
- Baker 13007
- Bartow 13015
- Ben Hill 13017
- Brantley 13025
- Brooks 13027
- Carroll 13045
- Chatham 13051
- Cherokee 13057
- Clarke 13059
- Clinch 13065
- Colquitt 13071
- Columbia 13073
- Cook 13075
- Dade 13083
- DeKalb 13089
- Dooly 13093
- Echols 13101
- Elbert 13105
- Grady 13131
- Haralson 13143
- Harris 13145
- Henry 13151
- Houston 13153
- Jackson 13157
- Jasper 13159
- Jefferson 13163
- Lanier 13173
- Lee 13177
- Long 13183
- Lowndes 13185
- Macon 13193
- McIntosh 13191
- Morgan 13211
- Oglethorpe 13221
- Paulding 13223
- Pierce 13229
- Randolph 13243
- Screven 13251
- Stephens 13257
- Sumter 13261
- Tattnall 13267
- Troup 13285
- Upson 13293
- Wayne 13305
- Worth 13321
Kentucky view state ↗ 86 N ▾
- Adair 21001
- Ballard 21007
- Bath 21011
- Bell 21013
- Boyd 21019
- Boyle 21021
- Breathitt 21025
- Bullitt 21029
- Butler 21031
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carlisle 21039
- Carroll 21041
- Carter 21043
- Casey 21045
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Clinton 21053
- Crittenden 21055
- Cumberland 21057
- Daviess 21059
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Estill 21065
- Fleming 21069
- Floyd 21071
- Franklin 21073
- Fulton 21075
- Gallatin 21077
- Graves 21083
- Grayson 21085
- Green 21087
- Greenup 21089
- Hancock 21091
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Hart 21099
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Hopkins 21107
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Johnson 21115
- Kenton 21117
- Knott 21119
- Knox 21121
- Larue 21123
- Laurel 21125
- Lawrence 21127
- Lee 21129
- Leslie 21131
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Livingston 21139
- Lyon 21143
- Madison 21151
- Magoffin 21153
- Marshall 21157
- Martin 21159
- McCracken 21145
- McCreary 21147
- McLean 21149
- Menifee 21165
- Monroe 21171
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Muhlenberg 21177
- Ohio 21183
- Owsley 21189
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Scott 21209
- Spencer 21215
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Union 21225
- Warren 21227
- Wayne 21231
- Whitley 21235
- Wolfe 21237
Massachusetts view state ↗ 6 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 3 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 18 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Bucks 42017
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Forest 42053
- Fulton 42057
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Sullivan 42113
- Union 42119
- Warren 42123
- Wayne 42127
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Virginia view state ↗ 75 N ▾
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Arlington 51013
- Bedford 51019
- Botetourt 51023
- Brunswick 51025
- Buchanan 51027
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Craig 51045
- Culpeper 51047
- Cumberland 51049
- Dickenson 51051
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Fluvanna 51065
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Greene 51079
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lancaster 51103
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Prince William 51153
- Richmond 51159
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Westmoreland 51193
- Wise 51195
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Berkeley 54003
- Braxton 54007
- Calhoun 54013
- Clay 54015
- Fayette 54019
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Jackson 54035
- Kanawha 54039
- Lincoln 54043
- Logan 54045
- McDowell 54047
- Mercer 54055
- Mineral 54057
- Mingo 54059
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Morgan 54065
- Nicholas 54067
- Pleasants 54073
- Pocahontas 54075
- Raleigh 54081
- Ritchie 54085
- Summers 54089
- Wayne 54099
- Webster 54101
- Wirt 54105
- Wood 54107
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/BENI ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/5331532 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z