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Silver Birch (Betula pendula) is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus. The closely related Siberian Silver Birch (B. platyphylla) in northern Asia and Sichuan Birch (B. szechuanica) of central Asia are also treated as varieties of Silver Birch by some botanists, as B. pendula var. platyphylla and B. pendula var. szechuanica respectively (see birch classification).

It is a medium size deciduous tree, typically reaching 15-25 m tall, exceptionally up to 30 m, with a slender crown of arched branches with drooping branchlets. The barkFor other meanings of bark see Bark (disambiguation). Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants such as trees. It overlays the wood and consists of three layers: the cork, the phloem, and the vascular cambium in other words, most of t is white, often with black diamond-shaped marks or larger patches at the base. The shoots are rough with small warts, and hairless, and the leavesThis article is about the leaf a plant organ. See Leaf (disambiguation) for other meanings. In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the chloroplast con 3-6 cm long, triangular with a broad base and pointed tip, and coarsely serrated margins. The flowerA flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms ( flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). The function of a flower is to produce seeds through sexual reproduction''. For the higher plants, seeds are the next generation, ands are wind-pollinated catkins, produced before the leaves in early spring, the small (1-2 mm) winged seedThis writeup is about biological seeds; for the Buddhist metaphor, see bija. A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. The importance of the seed relative to more primitive forms of reproduction and dispersal is attested to by the sus ripening in late summer on 3-5 cm long catkins.

It is distinguished from the related White BirchWhite Birch Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Betulaceae Genus Betula Species pubescens Binomial nomenclature Betula pubescens White Birch Betula pubescens is an abundant tree th (B. pubescens, the other common European birch) in having hairless, warty shoots (downy, without warts in White Birch), and whiter bark often with scattered black fissures (greyer, less fissured, in White Birch). It is also distinguished cytologicallyCytology (also known as Cell biology) is the scientific study of cells. Cytologists/cell biologists study cell structure (e. the organelles they contain), life cycle, division and function ( physiology) and eventual death. The word Cytology comes from the, Silver Birch being diploidDiploid cells have two copies of each somatic chromosome (non-sex chromosomes), usually one from the mother and one from the father. Most somatic cells (body cells) of higher organisms are diploid or polyploid (three or more copies of each chromosome, oft (with two sets of chromosomes), whereas White Birch is tetraploid (four sets of chromosomes). The two have subtle differences in habitat requirements, with Silver Birch found mainly on dry, sandy soils, and White Birch commoner on wet, poorly drained sites such as clay soils and peat bogs. Many North American texts treat the two species as conspecific (and cause confusion by combining the vernacular name 'White Birch' of one, with the scientific name B. pendula of the other), but they are regarded as distinct species throughout Europe.

It is often planted as a garden and ornamental tree, grown for its white bark and gracefully drooping shoots. In Scandinavia and other regions of northern Europe, it is grown for forestry. It is sometimes used as a pioneer and nurse tree elsewhere.