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Because of its golden bark on young trees, becoming dirty yellow-gold, it is given its name, Yellow Birch. Its bark is smooth and separates into thin, papery shreds; breaking into ragged plates as it matures. When you break the twigs or scratch the surface, they smell like wintergreen. It is a fairly large tree (21-24 metres) with a 60 to 90 cm diameter. They live to approximately 150, but can live to 300 years.
Yellow Birch leaves are egg-shaped, coming to a point at the tip, double toothed, and 7 – 13 cm long. In the fall, these leaves turn bright yellow. Its flowers are catkins that are narrow and approximately 1.5 cm long, and grow longer in the spring. Its seed or fruit is the same, only 1 cm wide and 2.5 cm long.
Yellow Birch prefers moist, cool soils and cool summers. In the Algonquin Highlands, it grows along lakes, swamps and stream banks and on the sandy, loam soils of upland slopes.
Yellow Birch wood is hard, heavy, strong, shock-resistant, close-grained and takes a fine polish. It is used for many furniture and wood projects. Rodents and small birds eat its tiny seeds.
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