Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
Height: 30 to 50 feet
Spread: 30 to 45 feet
Sun: Full sun to full shade
Fall Color: Golden Yellow
Suggested Use: Shade tree and Wildlife
Tolerate: Deer
Native to: Jefferson County
The Sweet Birch is such a cool tree that it produces wintergreen oil.
Betula lenta often gets overlooked because it does not posses the definitive white bark of many within the Birch family. Instead Sweet Birch has a bark similar in appearance to Wild Cherry trees with a reddish hue and horizontal lenticels. When the bark or leaves are damaged the tree releases a wintergreen oil which is a flavor not favored by many browsing animals such as deer. The wintergreen aroma makes the tree a must for sensory gardens or grandparents wishing to impress their grandchildren.
On Bacon Ridge in Ross Township, the Sweet Birch was heavily disliked by the youth of the area as several trees grew in close proximity to the old one room schoolhouse. Two of the teachers, Joseph Shane and Henry Crabbs, were known as experts in wielding lightning fast stinging birch limbs to keep order, and that when executed with the right amount of precision would notify the parents of the student’s unruliness by leaving a wintergreen scent upon the seat of their britches.
The Sweet Birch has tiny green flowers that have a touch of red and mature in early spring and are complimented by 3" to 4" long male catkins.
Economically the Sweet Birch has several uses. The hard, and tight grained lumber is used for furniture and interior trims, whereas the tree is also utilized for harvesting wintergreen oil although large quantities are needed to produce a quart of product.
The tree is an all-star for wildlife. The tree is an early source of food for many pollinators coming out of winter and serves as a host plant for 317 species of butterflies and moths. The seed and high caterpillar count causes the tree to come alive with bird activity throughout the year.
The most redeeming quality of the Sweet Birch is the brilliant yellow fall color that the tree produces well outshining its white barked family. Fall color is best acquired when the tree has a lot of sun exposure, as trees grown in full or part shade have a more muted color in comparison. ■
