80 
thick as long, erect or ascending, sessile or on very short stalks; 
scales very variable, 5-11 mm. (1/5-!4 inch) long, generally about 8 
mm. (1/3 inch) long, usually about 14 longer than wide, sometimes 
wide as long, densely pubescent on the back, less so at the tips, 
glabrous or nearly so on the inside, ciliate, occasionally with brown 
or black glands on the margin, commonly lobed to more than 1/3 of 
their length, the lobes ascending or divaricate, the lateral generally 
the larger and almost as long as the narrower middle lobe; nuts 
divested of the wings, slightly obovate, about 3 mm. (% inch) long, 
wings about 2/3 as wide as the nut and usually with a fringe of 
hairs at the very blunt apex. 
Distribution. Newfoundland west to Manitoba, south to Dela-. 
ware and southern Indiana, and in the Alleghany Mountains south 
to Georgia. In Indiana it is rare and local. It is found in the 
northern counties in colonies on the borders of lakes, in tamarack 
swamps and wet woods. It has not been reported south of Miami 
County except in Crawford County, where it appears on the cliffy 
sides of a deep ravine about 1 mile east of Taswell. In the northern 
part of the State it is associated with the black ash, white elm, tama- 
rack, silver-leaf maple and red elderberry. In Crawford County it 
is found on the sides of the dry cliffs, associated with the hemlock 
and laurel (Kalmia latifolia) .* 
In our area this species of birch is not a large tree. In the north- 
ern part of the state it sometimes attains a height of 15 m. (45 
feet); and a diameter of 4-6. dm. (24-39 inches). The trunks are 
short, usually 2-4 m. (6-12 feet) long. 
This species by different authors has been variously called Betula 
lenta, Betula alleghanensis and Be‘ula lutea. However it appears 
to be a regional form of the later species, and the preceding botani- 
eal description has been made from copious Indiana material, col- 
lected from several parts of the state, and drawn to cover only the 
form occurring in our area. 
Betula lenta does not occur in our area and the records for its 
distribution in Indiana should be referred to Betula lutea. Dr. 
Schneck and Ridgway reported Betula lenta as occurring in the 
lower Wabash Valley but an examination of Dr. Schneck’s herba- 
rium material failed to reveal a specimen. It is believed this In- 
diana reference should be referred to lutea. 
Transferring the lenta references, the published records of the 
distribution are as follows: Fulton (Hessler) a few in a tamarack 
*This is the only known station for the laurel in Indiana, though it is said to occur in Floyd 
County west of New Albany. It literally covers the banks of the ravine near Taswell and sometimes 
attains a height of 5 m. (15 feet) and a diameter of 7 cm. (3 inches). 
