Grid reference | ST 17759 76709 |
Common name | Erman's birch |
Common name | Gold birch |
Origin | North east Asia |
Deciduous | Yes |
Status | GB Champion 2023 |
Tag | 2042 |
Height | 21M January 2017 (revised) |
Girth | 272cm @ 1M November 2015 |
Girth | 280cm @ 1M June 2023 |
Reference | 338 |
This tree is north west of Blackfriars.
General tree description
Betula ermanii is a medium-sized tree growing to around 22 metres, with a broadly conical crown that becomes rounded on mature trees. The trunk has creamy-white bark, sometimes pinkish, horizontally peeling, while on the branches the bark is brown or red-brown. The leaves are heart-shaped, coarsely toothed and bright green in summer, turning yellow in autumn. The flowers are male catkins that emerge alongside the leaves in spring.
This tree is not common in Britain and is described in the Tree Register Handbook (2011) as "occasional", meaning there are "individuals in many large gardens or towns but more generally absent".