Downy birchJens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0
Native · Up to 28 m

Downy birch

Betula pubescens · Betulaceae

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.

Often mistaken for silver birch. How to tell them apart →
Know it byBarkDull greyish white with grey or brown bands, purplish when young.LeavesRounded triangles 2 to 5 cm, small teeth, hairs on veins beneath.CatkinsMales long and yellow, two to four; females short, green.

Then check · TwigsGreyish young shoots that feel velvety, covered all over in very short hairs, with no white warts.

How to identify a downy birch

Downy birch: bark
Bark

Dull greyish white with grey or brown bands across it, pale right down to the foot, and purplish on young trees.

Downy birch: leavesBarry Walter, CC BY 4.0
Leaves

Rounded triangles 2 to 5 cm long with small teeth along the edge, a fuzzy stalk and hairs on the veins beneath.

Downy birch: catkinsDrepanostoma, CC BY 4.0
Catkins

Long yellow male catkins hang two to four together at the shoot tips, and short green female catkins stand upright.

Learn the downy birch in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely

Every part, in photographs

Downy birch leaves: rounded triangles, single teeth, a hairy stalkBarry Walter, CC BY 4.0
LeavesRounded triangles, single teeth, a hairy stalk
Downy birch catkins: long male catkins, short green females held uprightDrepanostoma, CC BY 4.0
CatkinsLong male catkins, short green females held upright
Downy birch bark: greyish white with grey bands, pale to the foot
BarkGreyish white with grey bands, pale to the foot
Downy birch twigs: softly hairy shoots, no white wartsThomas Gyselinck, CC BY 4.0
TwigsSoftly hairy shoots, no white warts
Downy birch shape: upright twiggy crown, fine branch ends held upJens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0
ShapeUpright twiggy crown, fine branch ends held up

When to look

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In leaf
Catkins
Seed catkins

In leaf: April to November · Catkins: November to May · Seed catkins: July to September

Every tree on the calendar · How to identify trees in winter

Where you’ll find it

Common everywhere on poor or damp soils away from chalk. It grows on wet heavy clay and peat bog, in open woodland, and on heaths and moorland. It is often on damper soils than silver birch, and stands waterlogging.

What it’s mistaken for

Downy birch: young shootSilver birch: young shootDowny birch or silver birch?Both are white-barked native birches, and their spring catkins are alike.Young shoot Downy birch: older trunkAlder: older trunkDowny birch or alder?Both grow on wet ground, and both hang catkins in spring.Older trunk Downy birch: shape of a leafWild cherry: shape of a leafDowny birch or wild cherry?Both trunks have bands running across them.Shape of a leaf

More birches, alders, hazel and hornbeam

AlderAlnus glutinosaHazelCorylus avellanaHornbeamCarpinus betulusSilver birchBetula pendula
In the app

There’s more of the downy birch in Treely

  • Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
  • Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
  • A short round each dayUntil you know the downy birch on sight, from any side
  • Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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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), bobwardell (CC0), Barry Walter (CC BY 4.0), Drepanostoma (CC BY 4.0), Thomas Gyselinck (CC BY 4.0), Helen Waterman (CC BY 4.0), Jan Sheppard (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.