Alaska Paper Birch

Also known as Alaska Birch, Resin Birch

Alaska paper birch forms a defining canopy component across the vast northern boreal forest, thriving on cold, poorly drained soils underlain by permafrost. Young twigs are densely covered with prominent resinous warts that distinguish the tree from related birches, while mature trunks peel in delicate thin sheets of creamy white to pale reddish bark. In early spring, male catkins shed copious pollen on boreal breezes just before the triangular leaves unfold.