British Native Trees
and Shrubs

Silver Birch Betula pendula (Betulaceae)

‘But now to form a shade,
For these green alders have together wound
Their foliage; aspens flung their arms around,
And Birch-trees risen in silver colonnade.’
William Wordsworth
The birch, most shy and ladylike of trees,
An Indian-Summer Reverie

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

With its beautiful silvery-white bark, it pendulous branches and its delicate, fresh-looking foliage, this is probably England’s most graceful tree. It grows quickly and easily and is a common pioneer of dry soils, reaching a height of around 15 m in 20 years, although in 50-60 years some can grow to about 30 m. When young it has shiny reddish-brown bark and erect branches, but with age the bark becomes silver-white and peeling, with black, rough-textured, irregularly-shaped patches, and the drooping shoots which justify its Latin name. The slender, whippy juvenile branches are covered in tiny, pale warts but are otherwise hairless. In early spring the scaly winter buds fill out, giving the whole tree a purplish sheen before the light-green, hairless leaves unfold on slender stalks in May, developing into a triangular shape, up to 4 cm long, with a sharp point at the tip and a double-toothed margin. They turn bright yellow before falling in late autumn. Both male and female catkins open on the same tree in April. The yellow male catkins have reddish-brown scales and droop like lamb’s tails and once they have shed their clouds of yellow pollen they wither and fall. The smaller, erect female catkins are composed of overlapping green scales and appear with the leaves, ripening and enlarging in summer before breaking up in autumn to release onto the wind copious quantities of small, winged seeds.

Silver birch grows in woodland and on heathland throughout England but is rarer in the west. It ascends to 550 m in the Lake District and prefers dry acid soils in the open, unshaded by other trees.

This is a lovely garden tree, giving pleasure throughout the year, from the catkins and the opening of fresh green leaves to its fine silhouette and silvery bark in winter. It can be grown as a single specimen or, if there is space, in a group, the foliage giving light, dappled shade which allows spring flowers to flourish underneath. It will grow in most well-drained soils in an open position, although on poor, sandy soils its roots can become invasive. Aphid infestation can be a problem, resulting in dripping honeydew, and silver birch also sheds bud-scaIes, catkins, twigs and seeds which can be a nuisance in a very tidy garden or annoying to neighbours if it is on the boundary. It is easily raised from seed which can be sown as soon as it ripens in early autumn and kept moist. Young plants can be grown in beds as they transplant fairly readily from November to early March.

Trees in this country are not large enough to be used commercially for timber, but the twigs are cut to make garden brooms.

This is one of the most valuable trees for wildlife, supporting 230 species of insects including buff-tip, chevron and pale prominent moths, and the gregarious larvae of the sawfly. Caterpillars which are supported by birch act as a food source for spiders, mites, beetles, bugs, wasps, ants, earwigs, reptiles, amphibians, birds including blue tits, and mammals, including mice and shrews. Pollen is collected by bees in spring and the autumn seeds are an important source of food for a variety of birds including tits, goldfinches, siskins and redpolls. Birch can support large colonies of aphids, which in turn attract other insects, especially ladybirds. The fallen leaves also rot quickly to make excellent leafmould, rapidly giving cover for invertebrates.

Page last updated - January 10, 2002  

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