1690 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



1546 



stamens. The stem of the plant, 

 in its native habitat, seldom rises 

 higher than 5 ft. or 6 ft. It di- 

 vides into smooth branches, an- 

 gular, furnished with alternate 

 oval leaves, smooth on both 

 surfaces, and doubly serrated. 

 The teeth are sharp, and almost 

 alternately long and short. The 

 male catkins are 2f in. long, 

 slender, cylindric, with numerous 

 pediceled flowers. The females 

 are subcorymbose, elliptic, with 

 slender peduncles. Watson, 

 who has given a good figure of 

 this species, says, from the habit 

 and inflorescence of the female, 

 this plant may be considered 

 an .d'lnus ; but the fruit, being a 

 samara, " claims it a 2?etula," 

 As the general appearance of the plant more resembles an alder than a 

 birch, we have placed it under the former genus. It is a very handsome 

 shrub, and is well deserving of a place in collections. There are plants at 

 Messrs. Loddiges's, in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and in some of 

 the nurseries. 



App. i. Other Species of K'lnus. 



The genus ^4'lnus, Mr. Royle informs us in his admirable Illustrations, " has the same distribution 

 in the Himalayas that it has in the northern hemisphere ; that is, it occurs in moist situations, and 

 along the course. of rivers. A. obtusifblia Royle is very abundant on the banks of the Jumna and 

 Tonce. A. elongcita Royle occurs in Cashmere; and A. nepalensis Wall. PI. As. Rar., t. 131., on the 

 mountains surrounding the valley from which it was named." (Illust., p. 341.) It appears probable, 

 that, of the above species, at least A. nepattnsis, a tree from 30 ft. to 40 ft high, may prove sufficiently 

 hardy to bear the climate of London ; and we hope it may soon be introduced. 



GENUS II. 



JJE'TULA Town. THE BIRCH. Lin. Syst. Monoe v cia Polyandria. 



Identification. Tourn., t 360. ; Lin. Gen., 485. ; Juss., 409. ; FL Br., 1011. ; Comp., ed. 4., 157. ; 



Lam., t 760. ; Gsertn., t. 90. ; Lindl. Nat Syst Dot, p. 

 Synonymes. Bouleau, Fr. ; Betula, Ital. ; Abedul, Span. ; Betulla, Port. ; Birke, Ger. ; Berk, 



Dutch ; Birk, Danish ana Scotch ; Bidrk, or Bo'rk, Swedish ; Beresa, Russian : Brzoza, Polish. 

 Derivations. From betu, its Celtic name ; or, according to others, from the Latin word batuere, to 



beat ; from the fasces of the Roman lictors, which were always made of birch rods, being used to 



drive back the people. Pliny derives the name from bitumen. 



Description, fyc. The species are chiefly deciduous trees, some of which are 

 of large size ; but several of the species are shrubs. They are natives of 

 Europe, chiefly in the most northern parts, or in high elevations in the south; 

 of North America ; and some of them of Asia. They are generally found in 

 mountainous rocky situations in the middle of Europe ; but they grow wild 

 in plains and peaty soils in the northern regions. The common birch is one 

 of the hardiest of known trees; and there are only one or two other species 

 of ligneous plants which approach so near to the North Pole. The common 

 birch has been known from the earliest ages ; and it has long been the most 

 useful tree to the inhabitants of the extreme north of Europe ; as the canoe 

 birch has been to those of the north of North America. The species all ripen 

 seeds in the climate of London, and are all of the easiest culture in any 

 ordinary soil ; but, being hair-rooted, they do not grow so well in very strong 

 clays ; nor do plants of this genus, when raised from layers or cuttings, grow 

 so freely as in the case of some other genera. The leaves of the birch having 



