B. pendula differs from B. pubescens, the other common European birch, by warty and glabrous shoots (hairy and wartless in downy birch), triangular leaves with double dentition on the edges (oval and with simple teeth in fluffy birch) and whiter bark often with scattered black cracks (greyer, less serrated, downy birch). It is also distinguished cytologically, where silver birch is diploid (with two sets of chromosomes), while downy birch is tetraploid (four sets of chromosomes). Hybrids between the two are known, but very rare and sterile as triploid. [15] The two have different habitat requirements, with silver birch found mainly on dry, sandy soils and downy birch being more common in moist, poorly drained sites such as clay soils and peatlands. Silver birch also requires a little more summer heat than downy birch, which is important in the cooler regions of Europe. Many North American texts treat the two species as conspecific (and cause confusion by combining the popular alternative name of the fluffy birch “white birch” with the scientific name B. pendula of the other species), but they are considered separate species throughout Europe. [8] Silver birch occurs naturally in almost all of Europe: from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and Greece to Scandinavia. It is also present in Central and North Asia, from the Caucasus to China and Japan, including Siberia.

This birch grows at sea level in its northern range and up to 2,500 m above sea level in Asia Minor. Silver birch prefers cold climates and is most common in the boreal zone, where it may be the dominant forest species. The standardized allergenic extract, white birch, sold under the brand name Itulatek, is indicated for the treatment of allergies to birch, alder and / or hazel tree pollen and have allergic rhinitis (with or without conjunctivitis). [33] [34] Silver birch is a medium-sized tree that reaches a height of 15 to 25 m and can only exceptionally reach 30 m. It develops thin trunks with diameters less than 40 cm. Silver birch usually lives 90 to 100 years, and rarely up to 150 years. The bark of old trees is silvery white, with horizontal cracks. The leaves are triangular with toothed edges and end in a pointed tip. The foliage is light green and turns yellow and brown in autumn.

In summer, catkins of male flowers release yellow pollen. Female flower catkins are shorter, and after wind pollination they develop into cylindrical fruits formed by hundreds of wind-dispersed winged seeds. Silver birch grows naturally from Western Europe eastward to Kazakhstan, the Sakha Republic in Siberia, Mongolia and Xinjiang Province in China, and south to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran, Iraq and Turkey. It is also native to northern Morocco and has been naturalized in other parts of the world. [9] In the southern parts of its range, it is mainly present in mountainous regions. Its light seeds are easily blown away by the wind and it is a pioneer species, one of the first trees to germinate on bare land or after a forest fire. It needs a lot of light and thrives best on dry, acidic soils and adheres to heathland, mountain slopes and rocks. [5] Due to its tolerance to contamination, it is suitable for planting in industrial areas and exposed areas. [10] It has been introduced to North America, where it is known as the European white birch, and is considered invasive in the states of Kentucky, Maryland, Washington and Wisconsin. [11] It is naturalized and locally invasive in parts of Canada.

[12] Silver birch typically reaches a height of 15 to 25 m (49 to 82 ft) (exceptionally up to 31 m (102 ft),[5] with a thin trunk usually less than 40 cm (16 in.) in diameter. The bark of the trunk and branches is initially golden brown, but later turns white as the papyrous tissue grows on the surface and flakes into flakes, similar to paper birch (B. papyrifera). The bark remains smooth until the tree becomes large enough, but in older trees, the bark thickens and becomes irregular, dark and robust. Young branches have whitish resin warts and the branches are thin, glabrous and often hanging. The buds are small and sticky, and the development is sympodial – the terminal bud dies, and growth continues from a lateral bud. The species is monoecious with male and female kittens found on the same tree. [6] Some shoots are long and carry male kittens at the top, while others are short and carry female kittens.

Immature male kittens are present in winter, but female kittens develop in spring, shortly after the leaves unfold. [5] The silver birch is the national tree of Finland. [25] Leafy, fragrant clusters of young silver birch branches (called Vihta or Vasta) are used to gently beat when bathing in the Finnish sauna. [26] Silver birch is often planted in parks and gardens, grown for its white bark and gracefully hanging shoots, sometimes even in warmer places like Los Angeles and Sydney. In Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, it is grown for forest products such as wood and pulp, as well as for aesthetic and ecosystem service purposes. It is sometimes used as a pioneer tree and nourisher elsewhere. [5] Silver birch wood is pale in color with a light reddish-brown heartwood and is used for the production of furniture, plywood, veneers, parquet blocks, skis and kitchen utensils as well as for turning. It is a good firewood, but it is quickly consumed by flames. Bark plates are used for the production of roof shingles and handicraft strips such as Liberian shoes and small containers. [5] Historically, bark was used for tanning. the bark can be heated and the resin collected; Resin is an excellent waterproof adhesive and useful for starting fires.

Thin bark sheets, which detach from young wood, contain a waxy resin and are easy to ignite even when wet. Dead branches are also useful as lighters for outdoor fires. [27] Bark removal was once so widespread that Carl Linnaeus expressed concern for the survival of forests. [28] Silver birch has an open canopy that leaves plenty of light on the ground. This allows a variety of mosses, grasses and flowering plants to grow underneath, which in turn attract insects. Flowering plants commonly found in birch forests include primrose (Primula vulgaris), violet (Viola riviniana), blue (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), forest anemone (Anemone nemorosa) and sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). Small shrubs that grow on the forest floor are blaeberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). [8] Birds found in birch forests include finch, tree pipit, willow and nightingale, robin, woodcock, red pollen and green woodpecker. [10] Silver birch is a medium-sized deciduous tree that owes its common name to the white bark that peels off the trunk. The branches are thin and often hanging and the leaves are roughly triangular with double serrated margins and turn yellow and brown in autumn before falling off.

The flowers are kittens and the shiny winged seeds are widely dispersed by the wind. Silver birch is a hardy tree, a pioneer species, and one of the first trees to appear on bare or fire-swept land. Many species of birds and animals are found in birch forests, the tree supports a variety of insects and the bright shade it casts allows shrubs and other plants to grow under its canopy. It is planted decoratively in parks and gardens and is used for forest products such as carpentry, firewood, tannery, race track jumps and brooms. Different parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine and the bark contains triterpenes, which have been shown to have medicinal properties. Silver birch can easily be confused with similar downy birch (Betula pubescens). However, downy birch trees are characterized by hairy leaves and young shoots, while the same parts in silver birches are hairless. The base of the leaves of silver birch is usually perpendicular to the stem, while it is rounded into downy birches. In terms of genetic structure, trees are quite different, but sometimes hybridize.

[6] Three subspecies of silver birch are accepted:[13][1] The leaves have short, slender stems and are 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.8 inches) long, triangular with broad, wedge-shaped imperforate bases, slender pointed tips, and coarsely double-toothed serrated edges. They are initially sticky with resin, but this dries with age, leaving small white scales. The foliage is pale green to medium green and yellows in early autumn before the leaves fall off. In mid-summer, female kittens mature and male kittens develop and release pollen, and wind pollination takes place. A silver birch cat could produce an average of 1.66 million pollen grains. [7] Small 1-2 mm winged seeds mature in late summer on suspended cylindrical catkins 2 to 4 cm (0.8 to 1.6 in.) long and 7 mm (0.3 in.) wide. The seeds are very numerous and separated by scales, and when they are ripe, the whole cat disintegrates and the seeds are widely dispersed by the wind. [5] [8] The larvae of a large number of species of butterflies, moths and other insects feed on the leaves and other parts of the silver birch. [20] In Germany, nearly 500 species of insects have been found on silver and fluffy birches, including 106 beetles and 105 butterflies, with 133 species of insects feeding almost exclusively on birch trees. [21] Birch dieback can affect planted trees, while naturally regenerated trees appear less vulnerable. [22] This disease also affects B. pubescens and was reported in 2000 in many birch plants planted in Scotland in the 1990s.

[23] In the United States, wood is attacked by the Bronze Birch Moth (Agrilus anxius), a pest to which it has no natural resistance. [11] The branches of silver birch often have tangled masses of branches known as witches` brooms, which grow under them, caused by the fungus Taphrina betulina.