Betula BETULACEAE— FAGACEAE Castanea 



B. populifolia Marsh. White or Gray Birch. 



Known only from near Townsend (NO), where it was collected 

 by Commons in 1868 (A). Fl., April, early May. 



Alnus Hill. Alder. 



A. serrulata Willd. {A. rugosa (duRoi) Spreng.) Common Alder. 



Wet thickets and stream banks; common throughout, at least as 

 far south as the Virginia line. 



Catkins opening in the spring (late Feb. to April). 



^A. maritima (Marsh.) Muhl. Seaside Alder. 



Frequent on borders of streams and ponds, in Sussex, Dor- 

 chester, Wicomico and Worcester Counties. 



In sharp contrast to the Common Alder, the Seaside Alder 

 blooms in the autumn (mid- August, September), at which time 

 fertilization takes place. The fertile catkins do not mature until 

 the following September, that is, until the flowering period comes 

 round again, so that flowers and ripe fruit appear simultaneously. 



This shrub, or tree, is endemic on our Peninsula, and probably 

 does not occur anywhere else. "What appears to be the same plant 

 was collected by Hall on the banks of the Red River in the Indian 

 Territory. On the western tree, however, more information than 

 now exists is needed." It occurs in closely related forms, in Japan 

 (var. japonica), and in Manchuria (var. arguta). See C. S. Sargent, 

 in "Garden and Forest" iv, 268. (1891). 



FAGACEAE (Oak Family) 

 Fagus L. Beech. 

 F. grandifolia Ehrh. (Incl. var. caroliniana Fern. & Rehd.) 



Common in rich woods of the Piedmont; less frequent on the 

 Coastal Plain. Fl., late April, early May. 



Reported by R. M. Harper as "rather common from Somerset 

 County southward." 



Castanea Hill. Chestnut. 



C. dentata (Marsh.) Borkh. Chestnut. 



Common in the Piedmont province; less so southward on the 

 Coastal Plain, at least to Wicomico County. Fl., late June, July. 



In recent years largely destroyed by blight, and represented 

 chiefly by short-lived sprouts from old stumps. 



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