While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its bark is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for landscape use.
A number of cultivars with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and 'Dura Heat'; these are notable as the only white-barked birches resistant to the bronze birch borer Agrilus anxius in warm areas of the southeastern United States of America.

Native Americans used the boiled sap as a sweetener similar to maple syrup, and the inner bark as a survival food.
The river birch is not typically used in the commercial lumber industry, due to knotting, but its strong, closely grained wood is sometimes used for local furniture, woodenware, and fuel.
This species is utilized by many local bird species, such as waterfowl, ruffed grouse, and wild turkey.
Many waterfowl use the cover for nesting sites, while the ruffed grouse and wild turkey use the seeds as a food source.
Deer have been known to graze on saplings or reachable branches.
While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its bark is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for landscape use. A number of cultivars with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and 'Dura Heat'; these are notable as the only white-barked birches resistant to the bronze birch borer Agrilus anxius in warm areas of the southeastern United States of America.
Native Americans used the boiled sap as a sweetener similar to maple syrup, and the inner bark as a survival food. The river birch is not typically used in the commercial lumber industry, due to knotting, but its strong, closely grained wood is sometimes used for local furniture, woodenware, and fuel. This species is utilized by many local bird species, such as waterfowl, ruffed grouse, and wild turkey. Many waterfowl use the cover for nesting sites, while the ruffed grouse and wild turkey use the seeds as a food source. Deer have been known to graze on saplings or reachable branches.
Betula nigra