CHAP. CIV. BETULA‘CEE. BE’TULA, 1713 
from 1s. to ls. 6d. each, and seeds 1s, 6d. per quart ; at Bollwyller, the young 
plants may be obtained for 2 francs ; and at New York, plants are 25 cents 
each, and seeds 1 dollar and 35 cents per quart, and 44 dollars per bushel. 
¥ 11. B. ve’nta L. The pliant Birch. 
Identification. Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. B 464., Enum., 981., Baum., p. 49.; Wend. Coll., 2. p. 8.; Pursh 
FL. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 621. ; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 205. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. 
Synonymes. B. carpinifdlia Ehrh. Beitr., 6. p. 99., Willd. Enum., 981., Baum., p. 49., Wendl. Coll., 
2. p. 81., Michz. Arb., 2. p. 145.; B. nigra Du Rot Herb., 1. p. 93., Wang. Beitr., p. 35. The 
plant is, under both these names, and also under that of B. lénta, in Loddiges’s arboretum. Black 
Birch, Cherry Birch, Canada Birch, sweet Birch, Mountain Mahogany, Amer. ; Bouleau Mérisier, 
T. 
Engravings. Wang. Beitr., t. 15. f. 34.; Wend. Coll., 2. t.41.; Michx. Arb., 2. t. 94.; and our 
Sig. 1566. 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaves cordate-ovate, acutely serrated, acuminate ; petioles 
and nerves hairy beneath. Scales of the strobiles smooth, having the side 
lobes obtuse, equal, with prominent veins. (Willd. Sp. Pl., iv. p. 464.) A 
tree, from 60 ft. to 70 ft. high ; a native of North America, from Canada to 
Georgia; and flowering there in May and June. Introduced in 1759. 
Description, §c. According to Pursh, this is an elegant and large tree, the 
most interesting of its genus, on account of the excellence of its wood. In 
favourable situations, it sometimes exceeds 70 ft. in height, with a trunk 2 ft. 
or 3ft. in diameter. The 
outer bark, on old trees, de- 
taches itself transversely at 
intervals, in hard plates, 6 in. 
or 8in. broad; but, on trees 
with trunks not more than , 
8in.in diameter, the bark #7 
is smooth, greyish, and per- 
fectly similar in its colour 
and organisation to that of 
thecherrytree. In the neigh- 
bourhood of New York, 2. 
lénta is one of the first trees 
to renew its leaves. These, 
during a fortnight after their 
appearance, are covered with 
a thick silvery down, which 
afterwards disappears. They 
are about 2in. long, ser- 
rated, somewhat cordiform 
at the base, acuminate at the summit, of a pale tint, and fine texture. In 
general appearance, they are not unlike those of the cherry tree. The 
young shoots are brown, smooth, and dotted with white, as are also the 
leaves. When bruised, the leaves diffuse a very sweet odour; and, as they 
retain this property when dry if carefully preserved, they make an agree- 
able tea, with the addition of sugar and milk. The male catkins are flexible, 
and about 4 in. long: the female ones are 10 or 12 lines long, and 5 or 6 
lines in diameter ; straight, cylindrical, and nearly sessile, at the season of their 
maturity, which is about the Ist of November. The tree is of very rapid 
growth; as a proof of which, Michaux gives an instance of one, which, in 19 
ears, had attained the height of 45 ft. 8in. Michaux found the cherry birch 
in Nova Scotia, in the district of Maine, and on the estate of Vermont. It 
is abundant in the neighbourhood of New York, and in Pennsylvania and 
Maryland. Farther south, it is confined to the summit of the Alleghanies ; 
and it is found throughout their whole range, to its termination in Georgia. 
On the steep and shady banks of the rivers which issue from these mountains, 
in deep, loose, and cool soils, it attains its largest size. The wood of B. lénta, 
when freshly cut, is of a rosy hue, which deepens by exposure to the light. 
Its grain is fine and close : it possesses a considerable degree of strength, and 
5T 2 
