Silver birch facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Silver birch
Betula pendula
Silver birch forest, Inari, Finland
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Betula
Subgenus: Betula
Binomial name
Betula pendula

Betula pendula, commonly known as the silver birch, is a deciduous tree in the family Betulaceae. It grows in Europe, parts of Asia and North America.

The silver birch is a medium-sized tree, which has triangle-shaped leaves. In autumn the leaves turn yellow and fall. Trunk is shining white. The twigs are slender, and in an old tree the they often hang downwards. The flowers are grouped in an inflorescence called a catkin. The wind spreads the birch seed. The trees are monoecious, with both male and female catkins on the same tree.

Images for kids

  • Illustration Betula pendula0

    Silver birch

  • Breza na jesen

    Tree in autumn

  • Betula pendula winter

    Tree in winter

  • Sawfly larvae on silver birch 140701 (Tony Holkham)

    Birch sawfly (Craesus septentrionalis) larvae feeding on silver birch, West Wales, July 2014

  • 2014-10-30 09 58 18 European Birch foliage during autumn along Terrace Boulevard in Ewing, New Jersey

    Foliage coloring in Autumn

  • Betula pendula laciniata0

    Betula pendula 'Laciniata'


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Silver birch Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.