Betula pendula
Common name
Silver birch
Family
Betulaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
BETPEN
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland).
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Features
Tree with semi-drooping habit to about 25 m. Park smooth at first, silvery white and peppery, becoming dark grey and rough. Deltoid leaves to about 6 cm long with 5-7 pairs of veins and serrate margins. Male catkins up to 9 cm long; female catkins to about 2.5 cm, papery when ripe and separate into large numbers of winged seeds, wind-carried.
Similar taxa
There are several other Betula species in cultivation, B. pendula can be separated from most of them by the rhomboid leaves and the drooping growth habit.
Flowering
September, October, November
Flower colours
Green
Year naturalised
1880
Origin
W. Asia, Asia Minor, Morocco
Reason For Introduction
Ornamental
Reproduction
Suckering in wetlands, seed.
Dispersal
People, seed.