This one becomes huge and rather quickly. Pictured is the trunk of a youngster, seeded into a rather wild area, but much too close to the house. I only wish I'd noticed it while still a seedling so that I could have relocated it. Ah, well, inertia allows me to enjoy looking at it and the future problems will be faced when they arrive. The bark is something that can be seen from afar as the exposed cream colored inner bark gradually becomes whitish.
Older trees are almost ghost-like in bare winter silhouette.
This is not a tree for the small garden by any means, but if you are on a large property and don't have one courtesy of the wildlife, it is one to contemplate for that distant view. It's said to have among the whitest bark of all the birches. Native to the western Himalayas, it's rated hardy from zones 4-7. Much as I would love this one, it's also susceptible to the bronze birch borer and likely would not be terribly happy or long-lived in my climate. Arbutus menziesii , the Pacific Madrone is rather incredible.