Scientific & Common Names for Birch Trees

Scientific Name

• All birch trees are in the plantae kingdom -- which includes all plants. They are in the tracheophyta division (meaning they're vascular), the spermatophyta sub-division (meaning they grow from seeds) and the Angiospermae sub-division (meaning their seeds have casings). Birches are all in the dicotyledonea class, which means their leaves grow in pairs. The birch family is Betulacaeae -- the only trees and shrubs in that family are birches. Each birch species has a species name specific to it. For example, the white birch's scientific name is plantae tracheophyta spermatophyta angiospermae dicotyledonea Betulacaeae -- just like every other variety of birch -- and then would end in its species-specific name, papyrifera.

Common Name Origins

• The word "birch" and the common names for birch that are found in many other Indo-European languages -- for example, German's "birke," Ukranian's "bereza," and Sanskrit's "bherja" -- are all derived from the same Indo-European root, "bherja." "Bherja" is thought to have meant "bright"; it is one of a family of similar words that have to do with shimmering, burning, and shining white. The connotations of brightness that "bherja" brought are thought to have caught on when describing the birch tree, because of the tree's bright white bark.

Birch Species Native to North America

• Ten species of birch are native to North America -- they grow in the northern U.S. and in Canada. Notable varieties include yellow birch (Betula alleghaniesis), which is useful for woodworking, water birch (Betula occidentalis), which grows in the prairie, grey birch (Betula populifolia), whose leaves look like those of the poplar tree and white birch (Betula papyrifera). White birch is also called canoe or paper birch, and is notable for its bark's imperviousness to water and the ease with which the bark is peeled from the tree. The bark comes off the tree in large, paper-like sheets, and was traditionally used by tribes of Native Americans (such as the Algonkian) to build housing (such as wigwams) and canoes. In the Algonquin language, wigwas- was the root noun to describe birch. Other nearby tribes, such as the Ojibwa, used similar wigwas- roots.

Birch Species Native to Europe and Asia

• Many species of birch are native to Europe and Asia, and some varieties spread across both continents. Notable species include the downy birch (Betula pubescens) and the silver birch (Betula pendula). The silver birch is native to areas from Southwest Asia and across the majority of Europe. Its wood is strong, and is traditionally used to craft practical items that face hard wear -- for example, in making skis or flooring, or for use in tanning. The silver birch's bark grows in dark and lumpen but smooths out and whitens over time. The tops of the trees will therefore have whiter, smoother bark than the newer growth at the bottom does.