SILVER BIRCH FACTSHEET Gathered Inlongclustersknownascatkins

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SILVER BIRCH FACTSHEET gathered inlongclustersknownascatkins. The flowersofthesilverbirchhangfrombranchesinSpring, serrated edgesandturnyellowbeforefallingin Autumn. Silver birchleavesaresmall,lightgreenandtriangular. They have diamond-shaped cracksandbecomesblackruggedatthebase. drooping branches. As thetreesmature,barkdevelopsdark, Fully grownsilverbirchtreescanreach30minheightwithelegant, naked eye,butsilverbirchtreesshedlayersmuchmorevisibly. growth. Generally, thisisaslowprocessandnotvisibletothe skin. Inalltreestheouterlayerisconstantlyreplacedwithnew This paperybarkpeelsandshedslayersjustashumansshedtheir its stunningwhite,almostsilver, bark. recognisable UKnativetreesdueto The silverbirchisoneofthemost How to spot Betula pendula Latin name Silver birch easily populatesnewhabitats. pioneer speciesbecauseit The silverbirchisknownasa and heaths. woodland clearings,downs seed onwell-drainedsoilin groups, easilygerminatingfrom They tendtoappearaslarge In naturalareasyouareunlikelytoseeasilverbirchtreealone. and parks. The silverbirchisoftenplantedasanornamentaltreeingardens Where itgrows Supporting theWoodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar project quickly inbaresoils. that cangerminateandestablish many small,easilydispersedseeds fire. Theygrowrapidlyandproduce wood, forexample,oraheathland a disturbance–thedestructionof colonise newhabitatsquicklyafter A pioneerspeciesisableto Registered charity 294344andSC038885

Betula pendula © Willow CC BY-SA. SILVER BIRCH FACTSHEET in thehayfeverseasonearlySpring. produced bythemalebirchtree. This isthefirstpollentoappear Around 25%ofhayfeversufferers areallergictobirchtreepollen, the treeshedsitsleaves. nutrients intothetree,whicharerecycled onthesoilsurfacewhen other plantstogrow. Itsdeeprootsbringotherwise inaccessible The silverbirchtreecanbeusedtoimprove soilqualityfor silver birchtrees. Woodpeckers andotherhole-nestingbirdsoften nestinthetrunkof fly agaricandbirchmilkcap. Silver birchtreesprovidehabitatsformanytypesoffungiincluding and otherspeciesfurtherupthefoodchain. species. The leavesattractaphids,providingfoodforladybirds habitat formorethan300insect Silver birchtreesprovidefoodand Benefits for wildlife trees planted. to thisdisease,comparedwith from seedappeartobelessprone in death. Trees grownnaturally caused byfungusandoftenresults by birchdiebackdisease,whichis Silver birchtreescanbedamaged Why itneedsprotecting twigs arecoveredinsofthairs. hairless, whilstdownybirch birch twigsaresmoothand the tipsofbranches;silver Look attheyoungesttwigs Downy birch( Don’t confuseitwith #silverbirch and#NatureQuest Take aphototosharewith friendsand Have youseenany peelingsilverbirchtreeslately? Get involved Did you know? Betula pubescens ) An aphid is a small insect that feeds and trees. by suckingthesapfromplants @GrowWildUK onlineusing