Betula cordifolia Betula cordifolia Betula cordifolia (mountain paper birch, also known as mountain white birch or eastern paper birch) is a birch species native to Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. Until recently it was considered a variety of "Betula papyrifera" (paper birch), with which it shares many characteristics, and it was classified as "B. papyrifera" var." cordifolia" (Regel) Fern. "Betula cordifolia" is a deciduous tree that reaches heights of about 25 m and a trunk diameter of about 70 cm. Mature bark is white or bronze-white, peeling in thin layers. The inner surface of the bark is copper-coloured and the
Betula lenta vertical cracks into irregular scaly plates revealing rough dark brown bark patterns. This, however, only occurs in mature, or ancient, trees and these specimens are not often identified by the public as "B. lenta" due to the difference between the tree's smooth young bark (which the public is most familiar with) and the tree's rough, cracked and plated mature bark. The twigs, when scraped, have a strong scent of wintergreen due to methyl salicylate, which is produced in the bark. The leaves are alternate, ovate, long and broad, with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins long, the