BIRCH FAMILY. 



325 



1. B, al'ba, var. populifo'lia, 



Spach. Leaves triangular taper- 

 pointed, unequally serrate, smooth on 

 both sides. 



POPLAR-LEAVED VARIETY OP THE 

 WHITE BETULA. White Birch. 



Trunk 20-25 feet high with a chalky-white 

 bark and numerous slender branches. Leaves 

 2-3 inches long, heart-shaped or somewhat 

 truncate at base with a very long point ; peti- 

 oles half the length of the leaves. Fertile 

 aments at first erect, but at length pendulous. 



Poor soils. Maine to Pennsylvania along 

 the coast. Fl. April. Ft: August. 



Obs. A very graceful tree growing 

 on the poorest soil. The wood, 

 though not of the first quality for 

 fuel, makes good charcoal. The 

 straight stems of the young trees 

 are used by farmers and gardeners 

 as supports for bean vines, and the 

 brushy tops are similarly used for pea vines 



2, B. papyra'cea, Ait. Leaves 

 ovate, acuminate, doubly serrate, 

 the veins beneath hirsute, petioles 

 glabrous ; lateral lobes of the fertile 

 aments short, sub-orbicular. 



PAPER BETULA. Paper Birch. Canoe 



Birch. 







Stem 40 -60 or 70 feet high, and l-^ or 3 

 feet in diameter ; branches slender or flexi- 

 ble, the shining brown bark dotted with 

 white. Leaves 2-3 inches long ; petioles about 

 half an inch long. Pistillate aments about an 

 inch long, pendulous on a peduncle three- 

 fourths of a:i inch in length. 



New England and Canada. Fl. April - May . 

 Fr. July -August. * 



Obs. This tree is remarkable, as 

 furnishing, in its thin, firm and dura- 

 ble bark, the material of which 

 the Aborigines of our country made 

 their portable Canoes. Various 

 other articles as boxes, baskets, &c. 

 are manufactured from the bark, which readily separates into thin 



FIG. 224. The White Birch (Betula alba, var. populifolia) 

 FIG. 225. The Canoe or Paper Birch (Betula papyracea). 



