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Tree identification

Silver birch Betula pendula

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Silver birch twig
Silver birch leaf Silver birch catkins. Male hanging, female upright. Silver birch fruit  Photo: © Vic George
SILVER BIRCH  Betula pendula

Found throughout the forest, it is quick to colonise clearings and burnt areas. It is a short live tree 25-40 years which succumbs to fungal infection especially the birch bracket fungus. In high winds the tops may be broken off. It is a graceful tree, the main character being the fissured silver bark.
Silver birch bole  Photo:  ©  Vic George Birch bracket Piptoporus betulinus on an old Silver Birch.  Photo: ©  Peter Comber

Silver birch in the winter near the lake