Betula pendula grown for forest products such as lumber and pulp, as well as for aesthetic purposes and ecosystem services. It is sometimes used as a pioneer and nurse tree elsewhere. Silver birch wood is pale in colour with no distinct heartwood and is used in making furniture, plywood, veneers, parquet blocks, skis, kitchen utensils and in turnery. It makes a good firewood that produces a good heat when burnt but is quickly consumed by the flames. Slabs of bark are used for making roof shingles and strips are used for handicrafts such as wooden footwear and small containers. Historically, the bark
Pterocarya fraxinifolia appear in April, the male catkins thick and green, 7.5 – 12.5 cm long, the females longer with less dense flowers, bearing red styles forming fruiting catkins 30 – 50 cm long, the green, winged, nuts approximately 1.8 cm wide. The species is fast growing and grows best on flat ground or shallow slopes near river banks and in deep moist soils. The climate associated with the distribution of this tree includes mild winters and mild humid summers. It generally grows in mixed stands with other species and rarely grows in pure stands. Fossils of "Pterocarya fraxinifolia" have been described