Shrub or tree to 8 m tall

Leaves: usually over 3 cm long, widest above the base with a pointed tip.

Fruit: borne in catkins less than 1 cm thick.

Bark: gray to brown or reddish brown, sometimes peeling.

Characteristics: intermediate of the parents.

Similar species: Betula x purpusii and Betula x sandbergii are both hybrids that share a common parent, Betula pumila. Betula pumila is a shrub, and both of these hybrids are more shrub-like than their other parents. Betula x purpusii can be distinguished from B. x sandbergii by the wintergreen scent on its scratched twigs, ascending lobes on the scales of its female catkins, and more lateral veins on its leaves.

Habitat and ecology: Rare in the Chicago Region, but may be found in boggy woods.

Occurence in the Chicago region: native

Etymology: Betula is the Latin name for birch.

Author: The Morton Arboretum