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 The Silver Birch Betula pendula is
one of the most common of Britain’s native broad-leaved trees and can be found all over Britain. It is a particularly graceful and attractive tree with light airy foliage and a distinctive silvery-white peeling bark. The older the tree becomes the
more marked the bark becomes with black fissures and cracks The trees can grow up to 15-25m but are not particularly long lived.
Being a deciduous tree it’s about April/May that it will flower, bearing both male and female flowers on the same tree (monoecious). The pendant males are 3-6 cm long, whilst the erect females are short, 1-2 cm long. The female flowers called ‘catkin’ form around June, they are bright green at first becoming dark crimson in summer. Before the seeds are dropped they hang like ‘lamb tails’. The big, long leaf buds are borne on slender shoots and when they unfurl the leaves are light green and triangular/ heart-shaped with 'double teeth' (the teeth have teeth) up straight sides.
Also known as Beith (Gaelic and Old Irish), Begh (Irish), Paper Birch (Wiltshire), and Ribbon Tree (Lincolnshire), Birch, is the tree of Venus, and in folklore has a number of properties associated with it. It is believed to protect against evil spirits and the evil eye but it also symbolises love and fertility. In medieval times, a bundle of birch twigs was carried by the local magistrate on his way to court as a symbol of his authority and as a means of correction. The use of the Birch as a punishment probably originates in the need to drive out evil spirits.
For some reason the use of Birch wood was shunned in the United Kingdom, apart for its traditional use for broomsticks - when the twigs were used for making brooms or bessoms – although the wood has also been used for cotton reels and bobbins. In Scotland however the wood has traditionally been used in houses, furniture, carts, ploughs, gates and fences. Today large amounts of Birch brushwood is used annually for racecourse jumps.
Other parts of the tree were also useful. The bark was used for tanning leather and the sap was thought to have medicinal benefits for kidney stones and other ailments. The sap was also a good source of sugar and can be brewed into beer or wine; Silver Birch wine is still commercially made in Scotland. In Greek ‘pita’ means ‘pitch’ this is due to the bitumen extracted from the bark and explains why in Latin it was named Betula.
Silver Birch is a pioneer species, as the light wind-blown seeds, can be widely dispersed and will grow quickly on bare land without being planted. Birch prefer slight, dry sandy and acid soils but are also able to cling to rocks and mountain sides. These invasive characteristics and its tolerance to pollution make it ideal for establishing trees on exposed and industrial sites. In this area Silver Birch is found growing on heathlands, and along the Blackwater Valley Path.
Silver Birch has high conservation value. The light, open canopy provides just light shade to the woodland floor. This allows varied ground flora especially mosses, grasses and flowering plants to grow. This in turn means plenty of food for a wide range of insects, birds and many other animals. Silver Birch is one of the most valuable trees for wildlife supporting 230 species of insect including Buff Tip moths and sawflies. The Chaffinch, Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, and Robin are characteristic to Birch woodlands. You may also find the Woodcock, Nightngale, Woodpecker or Redpoll.
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