The Birch Family 



171 



33. Mountain 

 Birch. 



We often see the shining white stems of young birches in parks 

 and gardens, but no one sees or hears of a gnarled old birch. 

 The beeches, the elms and the oaks grow 

 old in cultivation, but the birches, like the 

 good, die young. 



2. MOUNTAIN BIRCH. Betula fontinalis. 

 Sargent. 



This is either a shrub or a small tree, 

 seldom more than thirty feet high. The 

 bark of the stem is thin, a dark bronze in 

 color, smooth and shining, while the twigs 

 are grayish and rough. The leaves are 

 almost orbicular and supported on short 

 petioles. 



This small birch is found in the Rocky Mountains and spreads 

 eastward in the river valleys. It is much confused with the 

 next species in the mountain district. 



3. WESTERN BIRCH. Betula occidentalis. Hooker. 



The western birch is a large tree, often more than one hundred 

 feet high and three feet in diameter. It reaches its best develop- 

 ment in the State of Washington, varying from a medium-sized 

 tree to a shrub in British Columbia. 



Its outer bark is yellowish or brown, smooth and shining, and 

 easily peels off. The inner bark is much lighter in color. The 

 leaves are broad at the base, tapering to a rather sharp point, 

 coarsely and sharply toothed, and frequently doubly toothed. 



It occurs throughout British Columbia and eastward, where 

 it mixes and becomes confused with the preceding species. 

 Macoun is evidently mixing the two species when he gives its 

 range as "Rather common in British Columbia, extending 

 eastward to the Saskatchewan plains." 



