Birch
Betula papyrifera · also: paper birch, white birch, bouleau
Sap & syrup🗓 Tap early–late Apr📍 119 on map (0 confirmed)
How to ID it
- Chalky white bark that peels in papery horizontal strips
- Small doubly-toothed oval leaves; slender, often clumped trunks
- River birch and yellow birch are also tappable
- Runs later than maple — tap as the buds begin to swell
Safety
- Sap is safe to drink fresh; risk is over-tapping — one tap per healthy mature trunk, shallow hole, plug when done
- Birch sap sours within a day or two — keep it cold and use it quickly
Harvest
Tap birch after the maple run ends, as the buds swell — usually a short window in April. Drill a shallow hole, set a spile, and collect the thin, clear sap. Peeling white paper bark makes the tree easy to confirm. Don’t over-tap: one tap per mature trunk, and give the tree years between visits.
Prep
Birch sap is only about 1% sugar — roughly 100:1 to syrup, so most foragers skip syruping and instead drink it fresh, or lightly ferment it into a country wine or a mildly fizzy tonic. If you do reduce it, go low and slow; its sugars scorch far more easily than maple’s, so finish gently.
Notes
Use it fast — birch sap sours within a day or two even refrigerated. River birch and yellow birch tap the same way. Plug the hole with a whittled peg when the run ends.
Guides & links
Updated 2026-08-09