Betula pendula
Silver birch · also Warty birch, European white birch, East Asian white birch
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Betula pendula is a medium-sized deciduous tree recognized by its white peeling bark and often pendulous branches. As a pioneer species, it quickly colonizes open areas, supporting a wide range of insects, birds, and other animals. It is a popular ornamental tree, but it does not tolerate drought well.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 30,2802.7%—2.6 in
- 10,2882.4%46 yr12 in
- 7,2749.9%—9.8 in
- 5,8792.1%35 yr9.8 in
- 2,8870.62%35 yr7.5 in
- 1,3250.58%—6.9 in
- 1,2530.68%—18 in
- 1,1840.22%—10 in
- 6131.3%12 yr2.8 in
- 4841.1%17 yr6.7 in
- 3791.1%—13 in
- 3040.04%—7.1 in
- 2340.05%9.4 yr8.1 in
- 2150.03%—6.0 in
- 1500.13%—3.0 in
- 1330.10%—6.0 in
- 1260.04%41 yr8.2 in
- 1000.07%—1.9 in
- 820.11%—9.3 in
- 500.01%—5.9 in
- 500.03%—14 in
- 350.04%—7.6 in
- 340.01%—3.0 in
- 340.22%—13 in
- 260.01%—9.0 in
- 210.01%—9.8 in
- 210.01%—5.5 in
- 110.02%—8.3 in
- 70.06%——
- 40.02%—3.9 in
Traits
- Form
- Weeping
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Mature height
- 40–50 ft
- Canopy spread
- 15–25 ft
- Lifespan
- 70 years
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Drought tolerance
- Low
- Wildlife value
- High
- Blooms
- Apr
Trunk diameters across every city: median 4.8 in, mean 7.4 in, 90th percentile 16 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
- Baltic mixed forests
- Central Anatolian steppe and woodlands
- Central China Loess Plateau mixed forests
- Central European mixed forests
- East European forest steppe
- Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests
- European Atlantic mixed forests
- Northeast China Plain deciduous forests
- Western European broadleaf forests
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands
- Central Anatolian steppe
- Eastern Anatolian montane steppe
- South Siberian forest steppe
Other Betula in the catalogue
20 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
