Mother of the forest

It's very easy when in the presence of the forests veteran giants the venerable Oak and Beech to overlook the smaller trees of the forest. Take the Silver Birch (Betula pendula) here, a very common tree, often not that tall and short lived by tree terms, only lasting three score years and ten, or thereabouts. That's a mistake. For the Silver Birch is the mother of the forest and the bushcrafters' friend. The forest mother as it would've probably been the first tree to colonize this land when the ice sheet retreated, creating a beach head and nurturing environment for other trees to prosper; it's still common to see samplings of oak and beech planted amongst sampling birch, the former coming into their own as the later fades. The bushcrafters' friend as it and what grows on it offer a wide range of valuable bushcraft resources. It's a beautiful and understated tree.