Betula pendula, Betula verrucosa, SE: Vårtbjörk, hängbjörk, masurbjörk, slöjdbjörk,
DE: Hänge-Birke, Sandbirke, Weißbirke, Warzenbirke,
NL: Ruwe berk, UK: Silver Birch, Swedish Birch

Scientific name:  Betula pendula Roth
Synonym name:  Betula alba L., Betula pendula var. carelica (Merckl.) Hämet-Ahti, Betula verrucosa Ehrh., Betula verrucosa var. lapponica Lindq.
Swedish name:  Vårtbjörk, hängbjörk, masurbjörk, slöjdbjörk
German name:  Hänge-Birke, Sandbirke, Weißbirke, Warzenbirke
Nederlandse naam:  Ruwe berk
English name:  Silver Birch, Swedish Birch,
Family:  Betulaceae, Birch Family, Björkväxter

Sweden, Nature, Travel, Wildflowers

Life form:  Deciduous tree
Stems:  Height 8–25 m, white; drooping branch tips; dark, fissured bark (black diamond-shaped marks) at base of trunk; hairless young twigs, covered with resin warts
Leaves:  Hairless, triangular with a broad base and pointed tip, double-toothed serrated margins, autumn color is usually yellow
Flowers:  Small, greenish to brownish, lacking perianth. Inflorescences dense, pendent Wind-pollinated catkins; male and female flowers in separate inflorescences.
Flowering Period:  May
Fruits:  Small winged nut or achene containing one seed (a samara)
Habitat:  Throughout the country, except in Lapland and in the mountain regions, where it is replaced by Betula pubescens

Vilda blommor i Sverige


Derivation of the botanical name:
Betula, ancient Latin name. Betula is derived from the Sanskrit bhurja, meaning "to shine" in reference to the bark.
pendula, Latin , hanging, pendent and refers to the often hanging branches.
alba,"white, dead white; pale"; bright.
verrucosa, full of warts; warty.
  • The standard author abbreviation Roth is used to indicate Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757 – 1834), a German physician and botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Merckl. is used to indicate Karl Eugen (Eugeniewitsch) von Mercklin (1821 - 1904), a German botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Hämet-Ahti is used to indicate L Leena Hämet-Ahti (1931 -), a Finnish botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Ehrh. is used to indicate Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart (1742 - 1795), a German botanist, a pupil of Carolus Linnaeus.
  • The standard author abbreviation Lindq. is used to indicate Sven Bertil Gunvald Lindquist (1904 – 1963), a Swedish botanist.

Betula pendula, Betula verrucosa, Yellow leaves, Flowers in Sweden, Go Ragunda


Betula pendula, Betula verrucosa, Yellow leaves, Flowers in Sweden, Go Ragunda


Natuur, Zweden, Bloemen


Flora of Sweden online, Native plants, Sverige
Usnea species, Old Man's Beard, Beard Lichen, Treemoss.


Usnea species (species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, that generally grow hanging from tree branches) prefer specific chemical and physical qualities and choose to grow on certain tree species. One of the main factors, affecting their occurrence is the acidity of bark, which varies according to tree species; for example, Betula pendula has normally acid (pH 3.4–4.0).