Paper birch is named after the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper-like layers from the trunk.

Primary commercial uses for paper birch wood are as boltwood and sawlogs, while secondary products include firewood and pulpwood.

[7][8] Betula papyrifera is a medium-sized deciduous tree typically reaching 20 metres (66 feet) tall,[4] and exceptionally to 40 m (130 ft) with a trunk up to 75 centimetres (30 inches) in diameter.

[9] B. papyrifera will grow in many soil types, from steep rocky outcrops to flat muskegs of the boreal forest.

kenaica) Alaska and in all provinces and territories of Canada, except Nunavut, as well as the far northern continental United States.

Isolated patches are found as far south as the Hudson Valley of New York and Pennsylvania, northern Connecticut, and Washington.

[citation needed] The most southerly stand in the Western United States is located in Long Canyon in the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks.

[15] This is an isolated Pleistocene relict that most likely reflects the southern reach of boreal vegetation into the area during the last Ice Age.

[citation needed] In Alaska, paper birch often naturally grows in pure stands by itself or with black or white spruce.

Shrubs often associated with paper birch in the eastern part of its range include beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta), common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), dwarf bush-honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), blueberries (Vaccinium spp.

Typical disturbances colonized by paper birch are wildfire, avalanche, or windthrow areas where the wind has blown down all trees.

[9] Paper birch is considered well adapted to fires because it recovers quickly by means of reseeding the area or regrowth from the burned tree.

The lightweight seeds are easily carried by the wind to burned areas, where they quickly germinate and grow into new trees.

[17] As paper birch is a pioneer species, finding it within mature or climax forests is rare because it will be overcome by trees that are more shade-tolerant as secondary succession progresses.

The nutritional quality is poor because of the large quantities of lignin, which make digestion difficult, but is important to wintering moose because of its sheer abundance.

[18] The seeds of paper birch are an important part of the diet of many birds and small mammals, including chickadees, redpolls, voles, and ruffed grouse.

Yellow bellied sapsuckers drill holes in the bark of paper birch to get at the sap; this is one of their favorite trees for feeding on.

[9] Since paper birch is an adaptable pioneer species, it is a prime candidate for reforesting drastically disturbed areas.

[24] B. papyrifera is more resistant to the bronze birch borer than Betula pendula, which is similarly planted as a landscape tree.