it is a tree growing to a height of 20 - 25 m, sometimes as a shrub
the crown is ovate, branches (unlike overhanging birch) erect at an acute angle - they do not hang !
white bork, smooth even in old age, peeling off in transverse plates
Buds
the buds are built in a spiral
they are ovate, blunt, sessile
covering scales are multiple, brown, tomentose along the edge
Shoots
annual growths are greyish-brown, densely hairy, without warts
Leaves (assimilation organs)
leaves are simple, broadly ovate to round, 30 – 60 x 15 – 40 mm large, short-pointed at the base rounded
they are simply serrated along the edge, young tomentose, later glabrous from the top and hairs only on the reverse (on the veins)
peduncle is 10–20 mm long, hairy
Flowers
it is a monoecious woody plant, flowers of different sexes
♂ - catkins are established in autumn, at the time of flowering they are 30-60 mm long, pendulous
♀ - lambs erect, 10 – 15 cm large
it blooms in III – IV
Fruits – seeds
the fruit is a winged achene, 1 – 2 mm in size, a wing is as wide as an achene!
the achenes are arranged in a cone-shaped proboscis
the margin of the three-lobed amniotic scales is hairy (even browy) and the median lobe is curved to the base of the brood
Extension
it is originally widespread in a large part of Europe and Asia, it rises high to the north, in Scandinavia up to 71° N. latitude and to the east it reaches the basin of the Lena River
in Slovakia, it grows mainly at higher altitudes from 700 to 1,670 m above the sea level, while at lower altitudes it grows on swamps and peat bogs
in mountainous locations, mostly in the zone of dwarf pine
Ecology
it is a light-loving woody plant of continental climate
it is demanding on soil moisture and tolerating extreme temperature fluctuations
Significance
for afforestation of waterlogged areas
whereas its occurrence is mainly linked to waterlogged habitats and peatlands in the open countryside are relatively rare due to the gradual loss of such sites
it is a preparatory and pioneer woody plants in waterlogged sites
