Betula platyphylla, the Japanese white birch or Siberian silver birch, is a tree species belonging to the genus Betula. It can be found in temperate or subarctic places of Asia: Japan, China, Korea and Siberia. The Japanese White Birch can grow to be 20 m to 30 m tall.
Betula platyphylla, commonly called white birch or sometimes Asian white birch, is native to Manchuria, Korea and Japan. It is closely related to B. pendula. It is a medium to large sized tree that typically grows to 30-40’ (less frequently to 70’) tall with a pyramidal habit. This tree is noted for its white bark, thin spreading branches and slightly pendant branchlets. Ovate, glabrous, toothed, yellowish-green leaves (to 3” long) have tapered tips. Fall color is usually undistinguished. Tiny monoecious flowers appear in early spring in separate catkins on the same tree: yellowish-brown male flowers in drooping catkins (to 3” long) and greenish female flowers in smaller, upright catkins (to 1 1/4” long). Female flowers are followed by drooping cone-like fruits containing numerous small winged seeds that typically mature in late summer. Young twigs have resinous glands.
