Betula utilis var. jacquemontii – one of the most desirable forms of Birch tree, with clean white bark. Brand new flesh, here…. with a gentle blush
Betula szechuanica, above
A young trunk which will mature to display chalk-white, textured, peeling bark. There is a grove of Birch trees, of many different varieties, at the top of the Rhododendron Walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (much as there is a varied collection in the arboretum at RHS Wisley). This display has been added to recently and is deserving of a closer look the next time I visit Kew.
The Teddington Gardener 