Appearance: Shrub or smaller tree, reaching the highest height 20-25 meters. However, they have the highest specimens in the Białowieża Primeval Forest 30 m high at 100 cm in diameter of the trunk. The crown is less slender at an early age, than in the previously discussed species.
Branches more protruding and often slightly twisted, steeply upwards, very wide at the top, which makes the crown irregular and multi-part.
The twigs are reddish-brown at first, a bit shiny, on an adult tree they do not hang like a veil, they just stick out straight to the sides. Instead of glands on the twigs, there is a delicate layer of fluff.
The bark is smooth on the trunk, white-gray to light brown, also silver and white in places, however, never divided into diamond-shaped tiles, like in the case of the warty birch.
Leaves only singly serrated, more round in outline, on the underside with a delicate fluff in the corners of the larger nerves, widest in the central part of the lamina, not at the root. Habitat; It prefers moist soils, moderately fertile.
Occurrence: Mainly in forests on peat soils and alder forests in northern and central Europe up to Siberia. In the south of Europe – mainly in the mountains, to a height of approx 1600 m n.p.m. A multiform species.
Flowering period: April to May.
Related species
Erman's Birch (Betula ermanii) comes from Northeast Asia, it has a yellowish to white bark, peeling off circular. The leaves are longer, than the domestic ones , species. Quite often planted in parks, Maksymowicz's Birch (Betula maximowicziana) has an orange-brown color, with age, shoots darken and unusually large in birch trees ) (almost like a linden tree) leaves about 12 in size×10 centimeters. The shape of the crown resembles native birch trees – warty and mossy, but the branches are usually slightly more developed. Quite often planted in parks, present in most collections and gardens. Black birch (Betula nigra), whose homeland is the eastern part of the United States, it does not have the light or silvery-white bark typical of most species of this type, On younger trunks, the bark is pale brown-reddish to gray-dark brown. In older specimens – very dark or almost black, with very thick cracked bark. The mouths are approximately 8 in size×3 cm, sometimes they are even bigger, oblong-oval, double serrated at the edges, glossy and dark green on top, densely hairy underneath, and sometimes balding. This birch species beyond its natural range can only be seen in great collections and botanical gardens. Also native to North America, however, spread further north to Newfoundland and British Columbia, paper birch (Betula papyrifera) it has a brighter one, but a bit . yellowish or light pink bark. The leaves are much larger, than the domestic birches (6-12 cm in length), a bit stiff, matte and dark green on top, with a long slender top. Only found in larger collections and botanical gardens. Despite the similarity of the climate, there are significantly fewer birch species in Europe than in North America, because many species became extinct during the Ice Age. In Europe, pre-glacial birch species could not "escape” before glaciation to the south because of the high fold mountains stretching from west to east. In America, on the other hand, "wandering” south was possible.