Betula pendula (as "B. oycoviensis") was previously listed on the Red List as vulnerable, though it is now considered a synonym of "Betula pendula" subsp. "pendula". "Betula szaferi" was previously considered extinct in the wild on the Red List, but is now considered a form of "B. pendula" with the presence of a mutant gene, causing it to grow weakly and fruit heavily. Silver birch is often planted in parks and gardens, grown for its white bark and gracefully drooping shoots, sometimes even in warmer-than-optimum places such as Los Angeles and Sydney. In Scandinavia and other regions of northern Europe, it is
Betula utilis from snowmelt, rather than from the monsoon rains. They often have very bent growth due to the pressure of the deep winter snow in the Himalaya. Leaves are ovate, long, with serrated margins, and slightly hairy. Flowering occurs from May–July, with only a few male catkins, and short, single (sometimes paired) female catkins. The perianth has four parts in male flowers, and is absent in the female flowers. Fruits ripen in September–October. The thin, papery bark is very shiny, reddish brown, reddish white, or white, with horizontal lenticels. The bark peels off in broad, horizontal belts, making it very usable