Wednesday Street Tree #8
Silver birch
Of all the birches planted as street trees, and believe me, there are quite a few, the silver birch is surely the loveliest.
In recent years, the Himalayan birch, with dazzling white bark, has been planted abundantly, but for my money, nothing can compare to the stalwart silver birch, one of the most elegant of street trees. You can always tell a silver birch by its pendulous branches, a characteristic recalled in the latin name Betula pendula, and the darker, warty bark on older trees.
What is it?
Silver birch
Betula pendula
Where is it?
Mitre Road, London SE1 8PY
///tent.lands.town | 51.502035, -0.108676 | TreeTalk
See you this Saturday?
I will be giving an illustrated talk at St James’s Piccadilly, a Wren church featuring wonderful Grinling Gibbons limewood carvings.Â
London is a Forest: an historical and environmental perspective.
Love reading the stuff you do. Keep up the good work
In many ways, the simplest is the best, thinking of birch as such a good-natured abundant native, that adapts well to most environments. And gives such pleasure with its grace and colour, and fine winter tracery.