Himalayan Birch is widely planted across the UK as an ornamental tree. It is often and easily confused with Silver Birch which is also widely planted. In it's native environment (Himalaya) where there is lots of snowfall  they often have very bent growth habits. In the UK they are typically straight and classed as a medium sized tree. There are several cultivars of Himalayan Birch such as having intensely yellow leaves during the Autumn, striking white bark or even extra long male catkins. Like most members of the Birch family it is not fussy of soil conditions and has stunning colours all year round. For these reasons the Himalayan Birch is a preferred choice of tree for new housing developments as well as parks and green space.s 

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Himalayan Birch can grow to a height of up to 20m and a spread of 15m. The shape of the crown is usually a broad pyramidal shape. The leaves are ovate, 5 to 10 cm long, with serrated margins, and slightly hairy. At Autumn time the leaves turn a lovely mix of yellow and transforms the landscape.  The canopy is quite open and allows a good amount of light to the ground. The buds are some of the largest of the Birch family. They are alternately arranged and are pointed and slightly stubby.

The bark is very smooth and white. The lenticles really stand out which are the horizontal lines dotted on the bark

The buds are quite stubby and pointed. They are also quite smooth to the touch

The bark is white which is a key feature of all Birch trees. The bark of Himalayan Birch is particularly pretty with the the creamy coloured lenticels on display all year round. Quite often strips of the papery bark will peel away and it's a common sight to see small papery pieces of  the bark scattered by the tree. The branches and twigs really stand out on a bright and sunny winters day.

Even from a distance the white bark really stands out

The male catkins are very showy and in flower between April to May

Betula utilis 'jacquemontii' was named in honour of  the French naturalist Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832), a guest of the Sikh Maharajah Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), who explored the Kashmir region in 1831, and died of cholera on the way back to Mumbai. The bark of Himalayan birch was used centuries ago in India as paper for writing lengthy scriptures and texts in Sanskrit and other scripts, particularly in historical Kashmir.

The leaves are ovate, 5 to 10 cm long, with serrated margins, and slightly hairy

The female catkin matures into a brown coloured paper like samara which contains hundreds of seeds

OTHER USEFUL LINKS

• Royal Horticultural Society
• Tree Guide UK
• Wikipedia

QUICK FACTS

• Himalayan Birch is widely planted across the UK as an ornamental tree
• ​It was introduced into the UK in the 1880's
• ​ In it's native environment (Himalaya) where there is lots of snowfall  they often have very bent growth habits
• ​There are several cultivars of Himalayan Birch such as having intensely yellow leaves during the Autumn, striking white bark or even extra long male catkins
• ​Himalayan Birch can grow to a height of up to 20m and a spread of 15m
• ​The shape of the crown is usually a broad pyramidal shape
• ​ The leaves are ovate, 5 to 10 cm long, with serrated margins, and slightly hairy
• ​At Autumn time the leaves turn a lovely mix of yellow and transforms the landscape
• ​The buds are alternately arranged and are pointed and slightly stubby
• ​ The bark of Himalayan Birch is particularly pretty with the the creamy coloured lenticels on display all year round
• ​Betula utilis 'jacquemontii' was named in honour of  the French naturalist Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832)
• ​​The bark of Himalayan birch was used centuries ago in India as paper for writing lengthy scriptures and texts in Sanskrit
• There are some very unique cultivars - a few of them are Snow Queen, Grayswood Ghost and Silver Shadow.

PLEASE LEAF ME ANY FEEDBACK / COMMENTS

If there is anything out of place or wrong please contact me. Equally if there is anything you wish to add please let me know. The more information we have about Himalayan Birch the better. Many thanks!

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