Betula pendula (Silver Birch) is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus. The closely related Betula platyphylla in northern Asia and Betula szechuanica of central Asia are also treated as varieties of Silver Birch by some botanists, as B. pendula var. platyphylla and B. pendula var. szechuanica respectively (see birch classification).

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree, typically reaching 15–25 m tall (exceptionally up to 39 m), with a slender trunk usually under 40 cm diameter (exceptionally to 1 m diameter), and a crown of arched branches with drooping branchlets. The bark is white, often with black diamond-shaped marks or larger patches, particularly at the base. The shoots are rough with small warts, and hairless, and the leaves 3–7 cm long, triangular with a broad base and pointed tip, and coarsely double-toothed serrated margins. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins, produced before the leaves in early spring, the small (1–2 mm) winged seeds ripening in late summer on pendulous, cylindrical catkins 2–4 cm long and 7 mm broad.