BETULACEiE. 345 



G. CARPI'NUS. 

 Slerilejl. in a long, cjlindric ament; caljx scale roundish, 

 ciliate; stamens 8—14, slightly bearded at summit. Fertile f. 

 in a loose ament ; scale large, oblong, 3-lobed, 1 — 3-flowered ; 

 caljx 6-toothed ; stigmas 2 ; nut long, ovoid, furrowed, 

 1-seeded. 



Celtic, car, wood, and pin, the head ; that is to say, wood fit for making 

 yokes for cattle, to which use the hornbeam is peculiarly adapted. Small 

 trees. Scales of the fertile aments persistent and becoming foliaceous. 



C. America'na. 



Leaves oblong-ovate, acuminate, unequally serrate ; scales of the fertile 

 amenl 3-parted, the middle segment much the largest, oblique, with a lateral 

 tooth. A small tree (12 — 20 feet high), common in woods throughout the 

 U. S. The wood is very fine-grained, compact and white, covered with a 

 light gray or ash-colored bark. Leaves 2 — 4 inches long,^ as wide,peliolate. 

 From the ends of the branches hang the long, loose, pale green, leafy aments, 

 consisting of alternate pairs of enlarged scales, with a dark-colored nut at the 

 base of each. April, May. Hornbeam. 



ORDER CXXVII. BETULACE^. The Birch Tribe. 



Fls, — Monoecious, amentaceous and mosdy achlamydeous, ternate in the axil of a 3-lobed 



Sterile. — Sta. definite, distinct. Anth. '2-celled. [bract. 



Fertile. — Ova. '2-celled, 2-ovuled. Styles or stigmas 2, distinct. 



Fr. — 1-celled and 1-seeded (by abortion), membranous and indehiscent. 



Seed pendulous, without albumen. 



A small order of shrubs and trees. Leaves alternate, simple, with the primary veins 

 running straight from the midrib to the margin. Stipules deciduous. Chiefly natives of 

 the cool parts of the northern hemisphere. Properties generally astringent. The birches 

 are often fine timber trees. 



Genera. 



I 10—15. Scales of the fertile aments 3-flowcrcd Betula. 1 



Stamens (4. Scales of the fertile aments 2-flowered Alnus. 2 



1 . B E' T U L A . 

 .S7fr//e fi. in a cjlindric ament ; bracts deeply 3-parted, 

 peltate; "^c;ilyx 0; stamens 10 — 12. Fertile ji. — Ament 

 oblong-ovoid; scales subtrilobate ; calyx 0; nut compressed, 

 with a membranaceous margin. 



Betu is the Celtic name for the hirrh. Trees and shrubs. 

 * Trees. 

 1. B. papyra'cea. 



Leaves ovate, acuminate, doubly serrate, the veins hairy beneath ; fertile 

 aments nodding, pedunculate ; lateral lobes of the cat ijx shoit, roundish. This 

 birch is abundant in the hillside woods of N. England, &c. It sometimes 

 attains the hight of 60— 70 feet, but is generally smaller. The trunk, which 

 is 1 — 2 feet in diameter is covered with a tough cuticle consisting of numer- 

 ous laminiB,the outer of which is snow white. Of this the Indians construct 

 their light canoes. The bark upon the branches is dark brown. Leaves 2 — 3 

 inches long, i as wide. Sterile aments 1 — 2 inches long. The wood is of a 

 fine, compact texture, but not durable, and is used in turnery and furniture 

 work. May, June. Paper Birch. Canoe Birch. 



