Birch Tree:
The White Birch became the New Hampshire's official tree in the 1947 Legislature without argument or opposition.
The white birch is also called the canoe birch or the paper birch, for understandable reasons. Indians used its bark to make canoes, and it was also used for writing paper.The beauty of the white birch is dramatic against the green of other trees. While all birches are sturdy and graceful and may grow tall, the canoe, or white birch sometimes reaches a height of 80 feet. Its bark is chalky to cream white, tinged with yellow, and peels in thin film-like layers. Its leaves are broadly oval on short, stout leaf stalks. The cylindrical fruit spikes usually droop in contrast to the more commonly erect fruit of the other birches.Return to New Hampshire Unit Study
Courtesy of New Hampshire Almanac
