A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula (/ ˈbɛtjʊlə /), [2] in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech - oak family Fagaceae. The genus Betula contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species.
Birch trees belong to the genus Betula and are classified as part of the Betulaceae family of plants. Some varieties of the birch tree grow in shrubby clusters, while others are trees that clump with multiple trunks, and others grow as classic single-trunk trees.
Betula is Latin for birch and describes a genus of about 60 species of deciduous trees and shrubs found in many gardens and landscapes throughout the northern hemisphere.
Betula is a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs commonly known as birch. They are characterized by their distinctive papery bark, graceful form, and delicate foliage.
The mostly circumboreal Betula sect. Betula consists of small to medium trees with rather large thin leaves and fruits with wide wings (wider than the fruit body). A characteristic feature of trees in this group is their white bark that often peels apart in sheets.
Birch trees belong to the genus Betula in the beech-oak family Fagales. Birch trees typically grow between 40 and 70 ft. (12 – 21 m) tall with canopies 35 to 60 ft. (10 – 18 m) wide. Dwarf birch trees are small trees that don’t grow taller than 30 ft. (9 m), and some only grow 3 ft. (1 m) tall.
Betula pendula, commonly called European white birch or white birch, is native to Europe and Asia Minor where it typically occurs in wood margins, heaths, hills and slopes. It has been widely planted in Canada and the northern U.S. as an ornamental.