Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens

Tree of the month series - this series of short articles about trees in the Belfast Botanic Gardens is compiled by members of the Friends group and Gardens staff. We aim to build up to a comprehensive archive of trees in Belfast Botanic Gardens. Each article will illustrate a tree growing in Belfast Botanic Gardens together with information from a range of sources. Click here to view the tree archive

Tree of the Month, May 2010

Silver Birch

Betula pendula

Jon Pilcher

Silver birch (Betula pendula) is native to almost all of the British Isles, although commoner in the south, prefering drier and acid soils. The leaves are toothed with large and small teeth, taper to a sharp point and are without hairs. These characters distinguish the silver birch from the downy bitch (Betula pubescens) which has a more rounded tip to the leaf and hairy leaves. The female catkins of silver birch stick up from the hanging branches while the male catkins hang down. There are two fine specimens in Belfast Botanic Gardens, one close to the Botanic Avenue gate (photographed here) and the other by the gate into the garden works yard

Silver birch in Belfast Botanic Gardens	Leaf of silver birch
Female catkin of silver birch, detail inset	Male catkin of silver birch, detail inset
Typical silvery bark of mature silver birch, Belfast Botanic Gardens	The more rounded leaf of Betula pubescens for comparison

Photos taken in 2010 in Belfast Botanic Gardens. Copyright Jon Pilcher