Downy birchJens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0
Downy birch
Wild cherryjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0
Wild cherry
Lookalikes

Downy birch or wild cherry?

Both trunks have bands running across them.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the colour of the trunk. Downy birch: dull greyish white, banded with grey or brown. Wild cherry: shiny, reddish or purplish.

At a glance

Look atDowny birchWild cherry
Colour of the trunkDull greyish white, banded with grey or brownShiny, reddish or purplish
Shape of a leafRounded triangle, 2 to 5 cm longBig oval, to 11 cm, with a long pointed tip
Young shootVelvety, covered all over in short hairsHairless, brown dusted grey

Three ways to tell them apart

Colour of the trunkBark
Downy birch: colour of the trunk
Downy birchDull greyish white, banded with grey or brown
Wild cherry: colour of the trunk
Wild cherryShiny, reddish or purplish
Shape of a leafLeaves
Downy birch: shape of a leafBarry Walter, CC BY 4.0
Downy birchRounded triangle, 2 to 5 cm long
Wild cherry: shape of a leaf
Wild cherryBig oval, to 11 cm, with a long pointed tip
Young shootTwigs and buds
Downy birchVelvety, covered all over in short hairs
Wild cherryHairless, brown dusted grey
Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

Downy birch

Betula pubescens

Downy birch is a slender, upright tree, often on wet, poorly drained ground. Its bark is dull greyish white, banded with grey. Its young shoots feel velvety, covered in very short hairs.

How to identify downy birch →

Wild cherry

Prunus avium

Wild cherry is a tall tree with shiny, reddish brown bark that peels in horizontal strips. In April it is covered in clusters of white flowers.

How to identify wild cherry →

Their other lookalikes

Downy birchSilver birchDowny birch or silver birch?Quickest check: the young shootDowny birchAlderDowny birch or alder?Quickest check: the older trunkWild cherryBird cherryWild cherry or bird cherry?Quickest check: how the flowers are heldWild cherryBlackthornWild cherry or blackthorn?Quickest check: how the flowers sitWild cherryCherry plumWild cherry or cherry plum?Quickest check: how the flowers are heldWild cherryCrab appleWild cherry or crab apple?Quickest check: the trunkWild cherryOrnamental cherryWild cherry or ornamental cherry?Quickest check: the outline
In the app

See them side by side in Treely

  • Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
  • Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
  • A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
  • The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
App StoreGoogle Play

Free to download.

Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Jens-Christian Svenning (CC BY 4.0), jamie-aa (CC BY 4.0), bobwardell (CC0), Barry Walter (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.