Silver Birch
Latin Name : Betula pendula
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Classic view of Silver Birch bark in the winter
The Silver Birch, commonly called ‘The Lady of the Woods’ always has a very graceful look about it. Its branch structure and long thin growth therefore accentuates that ‘lacey’ look and the easy movement of the crown, even with a light breeze.
Despite it’s delicate appearance, the Silver Birch is a ‘Pioneer tree’. So called because of its being one of the first trees to colonize a bare earth site.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Betula_pendula_catkins_leaf_shutterstock_1303887433-940x627.jpg)
Catkins displayed on thin twigs
These Catkins are shown here sitting alongside the small diamond-shaped leaves. The bark on the twigs is rough to the touch despite the delicate appearance.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Betula-pendula-mature-tree-june-RDBimage-940x1673.jpg)
The mature, knarled but still silver bark of an old Birch Tree
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Betula_pendula_bark_shutterstock_2134155231-940x627.jpg)
The silver bark shown here demonstrates the level of white (‘silver’) that the Birch brings with it, and it is a characteristic that exists throughout the Birch family, many species of which do the same.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Betula_utilis_bark_shutterstock_619919819.jpg)
This for instance is the Himalayan Birch – Betula utilis
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Betula_pendula_seeds_in_cobweb_shutterstock_1673515819-940x627.jpg)
You may have come across these tiny seeds without realizing what they are. Shaped like a bird in flight, they are caught by the wind, and in this case captured in a cobweb, they can be are carried like dust for miles. Hence their ability to inhabit new land. The larger seeded varieties of trees can’t do that as effectively.
![](https://priestgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Betula_pendula_in_autumn_shutterstock_442508533-940x625.jpg)