Landscape | It may be used as a single specimen or planted in groups and may be a single stem or multiple. It has intense winter interest especially when planted in glades and groups and combined with Cornus alba and other interesting, contrasting barked plants. |
Propagation | Plant unchilled seeds with no covering (light is an important factor in germination), however hybridization may occur. Wild-collected seeds tend to be the most successful, and ripen in early autumn. |
Cultivation | A rather hardy plant that does best in good light. |
Pests | Prone to attack by several bracket fungi (especially Piptoporus betulinus), as well as by mildew and birch rust. |
Notable Specimens | Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. |
Habitat | Found in various habitats along rivers, in woodlands, banks, scree, rough slopes and isolated pastures in Kashmir east to Nepal. |
Bark/Stem Description | Bark is white to startling white, thin, peeling in horizontal papery flakes. |
Leaf Description | Leaves with 7-9 vein pairs, dark green above and paler beneath, turning golden-yellow in autumn, to 5-12 x 3-7 cm. |
Flower Description | Male catkins to 12 cm. |
Fruit Description | Catkins to 2.5-3.5 cm x 10-12 mm, with pubescent fruiting scales. |