Burke: Betula pendula

	Betula pendula
	European weeping birch
Habit	Monoecious, deciduous trees to 25 m., trunks usually several, the crowns spreading; bark of mature trees creamy to silvery-white, smooth, peeling in long strips; lenticels dark; branches pendulous, twigs glabrous, dotted with small, resinous glands.
Leaves	Leaf blades broadly ovate to rhombic, 3-7 cm. long and 2.5-5 cm. wide, the base wedge-shaped, the margins sharply double serrate, the tip acuminate, surfaces glabrous to sparsely pubescent.
Flowers	Staminate catkins 3 per scale, pendulous; pistillate catkins 3 per scale, erect, cylindric, 2-3.5 cm. long, the scales 3-lobed, the lateral lobes broad and rounded, much longer that the central lobe.
Fruits	Samaras with wings much broader than bodies, broadest in the center.

	Betula pendula
Flowering time	April-May
Habitat	Disturbed areas associated with urban and suburban development where the trees escape from cultivation.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon; also in northeastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Eurasia
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	B. glandulosa, B. occidentalis, B. papyrifera, B. populifolia, B. pubescens, B. pumila, B. ×utahensis
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Betula pendula

European weeping birch

Habit

Monoecious, deciduous trees to 25 m., trunks usually several, the crowns spreading; bark of mature trees creamy to silvery-white, smooth, peeling in long strips; lenticels dark; branches pendulous, twigs glabrous, dotted with small, resinous glands.

Leaves

Leaf blades broadly ovate to rhombic, 3-7 cm. long and 2.5-5 cm. wide, the base wedge-shaped, the margins sharply double serrate, the tip acuminate, surfaces glabrous to sparsely pubescent.

Flowers

Staminate catkins 3 per scale, pendulous; pistillate catkins 3 per scale, erect, cylindric, 2-3.5 cm. long, the scales 3-lobed, the lateral lobes broad and rounded, much longer that the central lobe.

Fruits

Samaras with wings much broader than bodies, broadest in the center.