Section 2 - European White Birch (BETULA PENDULA ROTH)

European white birch, or silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), belongs to the genus Betula. There are some 40 Betula species, which are distributed throughout the northern temperate region. According to the systematics created by Regel, 1876 (in Natho 1957), the Betula genus is divided into two main sections, Eubetula and Betulaster (Table 3.3). The Betulaster section includes just a few birch species in Japan and China, in the subsection Acuminatae. The Eubetula section is further divided into three subsections, Costatae (yellow birches), Albae (white birches) and Nanae (dwarf birches). Betula pendula belongs to the Albae subsection, as does the other European treelike birch, B. pubescens.