Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch or warty birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. The leaves are triangular with doubly serrate margins and turn yellow in autumn before they fall. The flowers are catkins and the light, winged seed get widely scattered by the wind. It is planted decoratively in parks and gardens and is used for forest products such as joinery timber, firewood, tanning, racecourse jumps and brooms. Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine and the bark contains triterpenes which have been shown to have medicinal properties.

 

The silver birch is a medium-sized deciduous tree, typically reaching 15 to 25 m with a slender trunk usually under 40 cm diameter. The bark on the trunk and branches is golden-brown at first, but later this turns to white as a result of papery tissue developing on the surface and peeling off in flakes. The leaves are 3 to 7 cm long, the foliage is a pale to medium green and turns yellow early in the autumn before the leaves fall. In mid-summer, the female catkins mature and the male catkins expand and release pollen, and wind pollination takes place. The small 1 to 2 mm winged seeds ripen in late summer on cylindrical catkins 2 to 4 cm long and 7 mm broad. The seeds are very numerous and are separated by scales, and when ripe, the whole catkin disintegrates and the seeds are spread widely by the wind.

 

The silver birch has an open canopy which allows plenty of light to reach the ground. Silver birch is often planted in parks and gardens, grown for its white bark and gracefully drooping shoots. Silver birch is used in traditional medicine as a diuretic and is reputed to be useful in the treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, kidney stones and respiratory diseases. For these purposes, a decoction of the bark or leaves is generally used. Externally silver birch is used to promote healing, relieve pain and treat inflammations and infections of the skin.