Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) 
Gitxsan name: haawak'
Wet'suwet'en name: k'iy
Botanical Description
- small to medium-sized, deciduous tree up to 30 metres tall, with bark
that peels in papery strips
- white to copper brown
- smooth, marked with brown horizontal lines of lenticels
- leaves are oval to round, sharp-pointed, margins doubly toothed, upper
surface
- smooth to hairy
- found in open to dense, usually moist forest
- thrives in burned over or cutover areas
- lowlands to lower mountain slopes
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Forests (56kB)
Ethnobotanical Description
Due to its watertight properties, the inner bark was used to make
canoes, baskets, dishes, snow goggles and moose calls. The bark was also used to wrap food
for storage and could be used to envelop corpses. The Wet'suwet'en used it to make
toboggans because it is so slippery.
This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet
Digital Collection Program, Industry Canada.
Revised: 08/21/98
