Downy birch (Betula pubescens): what the forestry bodies record

This page reports what forestry bodies say about one tree. It does not identify trees from descriptions or photos and does not say what should be done with any tree. Each fact names its source, all read on October 9, 2026. The agency records for a North American birch are on the paper birch page, and the guides to tree species in the agency records list the rest.

At a glance

Item	What the source records
Scientific name and family	Betula pubescens, family Betulaceae (Woodland Trust)
Common names	Downy birch, hairy birch, moor birch, white birch, common white birch and European white birch (Woodland Trust); Forest Research files it as Downy birch with the code DBI
Origin	Native (Forest Research and Woodland Trust), a Principal tree species in Forest Research's list
Height	Mature trees can reach 30 m (Woodland Trust). Forest Research gives the tallest trees as around 20 m.
Rainfall, exposure, shade	More than 600 mm of rain preferred; moderate exposure; a light demander (Forest Research key properties)

Range

Forest Research says downy birch is native to all parts of the British Isles and found across northern and central Europe into northern Asia, and that it tends to occur in more western and upland parts of Britain than silver birch. The Woodland Trust says it is found throughout Europe, grows on damper soils than silver birch, can tolerate peat bogs and clay, and can grow further north than any other broadleaf species. EUFORGEN, the European forest genetic resources programme, calls it a fast growing deciduous tree native to northern Europe and Asia, reaching Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Siberia, and among the few deciduous trees that grow higher than the Alpine tree line in the Nordic countries.

Site and soil

Forest Research calls downy birch a light demanding pioneer that is frost resistant and windfirm, found on moister soils of very poor to medium nutrient status, and one of the broadleaves that can grow on peaty soils. It says that on equivalent sites downy birch tends to be slower growing with poorer stem form than silver birch, that canopy closure can occur by 20 years after establishment, and that it begins to produce seed from about 15 years of age. It adds that it coppices after felling, but less profusely than other broadleaves. EUFORGEN says it can grow on poor soils but is light-demanding and cannot tolerate drought, and that it thrives from wet boggy areas to dry sandy soils.

Bark, leaves and flowers

The Woodland Trust describes grey-white bark that is browner than silver birch with more obvious horizontal grooves and without a papery quality, and triangular leaves more rounded at the base than silver birch, with downy leaf stalks. In winter it names twigs that are softly hairy to the touch. Male and female catkins grow on the same tree: male catkins appear from April to May, long and yellow-brown in groups of two to four, and the female catkins are smaller, short, bright green and erect. It warns that silver birch and downy birch easily hybridise. Forest Research shows a witches' broom on a downy birch in its photographs.

Wildlife and uses

The Woodland Trust says downy birch provides food and habitat for more than 300 insect species, feeds the caterpillars of moths including the angle-shades and buff tip, and is tied to fungi including fly agaric and the birch polypore. Woodpeckers and other hole-nesting birds often nest in the trunk, and siskins, greenfinches and redpolls eat the seed. Forest Research says it was historically an important source of wood for fuel, charcoal and small wood products, particularly wooden bobbins, and that the commonest aim of management is small roundwood such as firewood and pulpwood. It records birch woodland (silver and downy together) at about 240,000 hectares, 18 percent of Britain's broadleaved woodland. EUFORGEN says the timber is poor and used mostly for pulp and fuelwood, but that the tree contributes to watershed protection and soil stabilisation.

Pests and diseases the sources name

Forest Research records widespread and gradual dieback of birch in some areas, especially in young trees 5 to 10 years after planting. It names a rust fungus, Melampsoridium betulinum, as important on birch in several European countries, linked to retarded height growth and higher mortality. On silver birch it ties two canker fungi, Discula betulina and Marssonina betulae, to the dieback, and it says provenance and climate both play a part. It rates the genus as very susceptible to Armillaria root rot, also called honey fungus.

Text on Forest Research is adapted from its tree species database entry and contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.