White Birch (Paper Birch) vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

White Birch (Paper Birch) vs Water Arum

Betula papyrifera

Calla palustris

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

White Birch (Paper Birch)
Water Arum

White Birch is a large, attractive deciduous tree. This fast-growing, cold hardy species has distinctive white papery bark that peels in layers, making it a beautiful ornamental or accent tree. White Birch also makes great firewood.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

White Birch (Paper Birch) Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 1b
Height: 18 m (60 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 11 m (35 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: long
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: none


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Bark: white, papery, peeling
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: red, in clusters
Seeds: located within the catkins
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: yes
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: american white birch, canoe birch, paper birch
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon