yellow birch

noun

: a large birch (Betula alleghaniensis synonym B. lutea) of chiefly eastern North America with thin lustrous gray or yellow bark forming plates with ragged edges in older trees
also : its strong hard dark brown to reddish-brown wood

Examples of yellow birch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Departing from Cass, the route follows the Greenbrier River and passes through part of the Monongahela National Forest, where maples, red spruce, and yellow birch create bright autumnal hues. Molly O'Brien, Travel + Leisure, 3 Oct. 2025 In the Great Smoky Mountains, with higher elevation that leads to a climate more similar to New England, color changes can begin as early as mid-September in yellow birch, American beech, mountain maple, hobblebush, and pin cherry trees. Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2025 Species include red oak, bur oak, white cedar, yellow birch, tamarack, black spruce and white pine. Jimmy Lovrien, Twin Cities, 23 May 2025 The council’s first purchase was Cowles Bog—a rare glacial wetland filled with beavers, red maples and yellow birches; a muck of swamp water and marsh plants; blackberries; and, eventually, reintroduced purple orchids—acquired in 1953 for $1,730 (around $20,000 today). Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024 Outside, a steely sky and yellow birch trees marked a new season. Iris Samuels, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2022 The terrain was becoming rockier now, with paper birch and spruce trees replacing the canopy of sugar maples and yellow birch. Emily Pennington, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of yellow birch was in 1774

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Cite this Entry

“Yellow birch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yellow%20birch. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

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