Northern Birch

Description

Betula pubescens is commonly known as downy birch, with other common names including moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch. It is a deciduous tree growing to 0 to 0 m (33 to 66 ft) tall (rarely to 7 m), with a slender crown and a trunk up to 70 cm (8 in) (exceptionally m) in diameter, with smooth but dull grey-white bark finely marked with dark horizontal lenticels. The shoots are grey-brown with fine downy. The leaves are ovate-acute, to 5 cm (0.8 to .0 in) long and .5 to 4.5 cm (0.6 to .8 in) broad, with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins, produced in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a pendulous, cylindrical aggregate to 4 cm (0.4 to .6 in) long and 5 to 7 mm (0. to 0.3 in) wide which disintegrates at maturity, releasing the individual seeds; these seeds are mm (0.08 in) long with two small wings along the side.